LISTICLE
Follow UsThe Tamil Nadu Premier League has grown by leaps and bounds since its inception in 2016. It started as some random state-run league but has gone on to become the ultimate podium for talents. A platform for the already existing superstars from the state and a stepping stone for the talents to reach bigger platforms.
Prior to the seventh edition, the tournament moved on from the player draft system and decided to conduct an auction. Every team were allowed to retain a maximum of two players, and the rest of them were sent into the auction, which happened in February.
Lyca Kovai Kings, who were the joint-winners last season, will kick off the tournament against Idream Tiruppur Tamizhans on June 12 (Monday). Meanwhile, Chepauk Super Gillies, who have won the competition four times, will commence their campaign against Salem Spartans on Tuesday.
While we will witness quite a few stars in the tournament, there will also be a couple of youngsters who would be eager to make a mark.
Here, we look at one player from each team who would be the one to watch out for.
Sai Sudharsan (Lyca Kovai Kings)
It would come as a huge surprise to everyone if Sudharsan doesn’t have a blockbuster TNPL 2023, especially after what he did in this year’s Indian Premier League. The young left-hander got 362 runs in eight innings at an average of 51.71 and a strike rate of 141.4. The 21-year-old got runs in every match, but what he did in the grand final was simply extraordinary.
96 runs off 47 deliveries, studded with eight fours and six maximums, Sudharsan forced everyone to sit up and take notice. And guess what, he did all that for Gujarat Titans after being bought at the auction for his base price of 20 lakh, which is 1.6 lakh lesser than what he got in the TNPL auction.
Sudharsan also has a phenomenal record in the TNPL, having amassed 694 runs @ 57.83 and an SR of 142.2. These numbers were enough for Lyca to spend 1/3rd of their auction purse on Sudharsan. Lyca have Shahrukh Khan for death overs but would want Sudharsan to do most of the scoring at the top. Those 21.6 lakh won’t feel much if Sudharsan can even replicate 50 percent of what he did in the IPL final.
Full squad - Sai Sudharsan, M Mohammed, Kiran Akash, Shahrukh Khan, M Siddharth, U Mukilesh, Ram Arvindh, Atheeq ur Rahman, Suresh Kumar, Gowtham Thamarai Kannan, R Divakar, P Vidyuth, J Subramaniam, B Sachin, Yudheeswaran, Hemcharan, S Sujay, KM Om Prakash.
Chepauk Super Gillies - Pradosh Ranjan Paul
The Super Gillies have a couple of big names in their set-up, but a lot of eyes will be on Pradosh, who will be running high on confidence after a successful first-class season. The 22-year-old left-hander, who became the first cricketer from the textile hub of Tiruppur to feature in the Ranji Trophy, has horrific numbers in TNPL, but it could all change in this edition.
291 runs in 20 innings @ 16.17 and an SR of 100 - these numbers are as bad as they can get. However, we might witness a different version of Pradosh this season. The one who slammed 631 runs across nine innings, decorated with three tons and two fifties, in the last Ranji Trophy. He got all those runs in the middle-order and even went on to captain Tamil Nadu in one game. The Super Gillies would now hope that Pradosh carry forwards his form into the TNPL.
Full squad - Sanjay Yadav, Harish Kumar, Baba Aparajith, N Jagadeesan, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, R Satish, U Sasidev, R Rohit, M Silambarasan, Rahil Shah, R Sibi, S Kumar, Santosh Shiv S, TD Lokesh Raj, B Rocky, Ayyappan.
Nellai Royal Kings - Sonu Yadav
The fast-bowling all-rounder will have to be at his best if Nellai Royal Kings want to win their maiden TNPL title. The 23-year-old can consistently touch that 140-kmph mark and also play useful cameos down the order. Last season, Sonu not only hit 107 runs in six innings at a strike rate of 152.9 but also picked up 10 wickets at an economy rate of 7.8 and a strike rate of 15.9.
Sonu was also part of RCB’s set-up in the last edition of IPL but didn’t get a single game. At 15.2 lakh, Sonu is Nellai‘s most expensive player, and his performance could make or break their season.
Full squad - Sonu Yadav, Arun Karthik, Sandeep Warrier, Ajitesh, Rithik Easwaran, Mohan Prasath, Nidhish Rajagopal, Aswin Crist, L Suryaprakash, M Poiyamozhi, Sri Neranjan, Karthik Manikandan, R Mithun, NS Harish, N Kabilan, Emmanuel Cherian, P Sugendhiran, SJ Arun Kumar, A Adithya.
Siechem Madurai Panthers - Washington Sundar
Washington Sundar’s biggest concern will be how he keeps himself fit throughout the tournament. For a spin-bowling all-rounder, Washington gets injured way too many times. The left-handed batter and offspinner, Washington, featured in only seven games in this year’s IPL because of a hamstring injury but has now recovered and will start the season for the Panthers. The 23-year-old is a quality player, but his form hasn’t been great because of so many injuries.
In IPL 2022, he only managed 60 runs at a strike rate of 100 and got only three wickets at an average of 48.7. Guess what, all those three scalps came in one innings. His numbers in the TNPL are pretty impressive, though - 599 runs in 16 innings @ 46.08 and 26 wickets at an economy of 5.9. India doesn’t have a quality off-spinner in their set-up and constantly have to fall back to R Ashwin, but if Washington can keep himself fit, it won’t be too long before he finds himself back in the white-ball squad.
Full squad: Hari Nishaanth, Swapnil Singh, J Koushik, Washington Sundar, Murugan Ashwin, B Surya, Shijit Chandran, Gurjapneet Singh, Deeban Lingesh, S Karthik, Ajay Krishnan, Gautham, P Saravana, Sri Abishek, Aaditya V, Anton Andrew, Krish Jain, D Rahul, D Sudhan, M Ayush.
IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans - Ganeshan Periyaswamy
India’s very own Lasith Malinga, or Matheesha Pathirana, Periyaswamy has made quite a name for himself with his slingy action. His journey hasn’t been an easy one, with him having vision issues in his right eye since childhood. There were other injuries too, and with his family's stressful financial circumstances, Periyaswamy even thought of leaving cricket but T Natarajan took him under his wings and has been his friend and mentor since then.
In his very first season in 2019, Periyaswamy took 21 wickets in nine innings, including a match-winning five-wicket haul in the final. He had a good 2021 season as well. In 2022, he didn’t get enough wickets, but his economy was just 5.8. He has never gone over 6.5 in a TNPL season, despite bowling most of his overs in the powerplay and at the death. The Salem Slinger, who has already made his T20 debut for Tamil Nadu, can bowl those yorkers and swing the new ball.
Full squad: Sai Kishore, Vijay Shankar, NS Chaturvedi, R Vivek, Vishal Vaidhya, G Periyasamy, Anirudh Sitaram, Ajith Ram, Trilok Nag, Tushar Raheja, Radhakrishnan, S Ganesh, Mohamad Ali, G Parthasarathy, Rahul Ayyappan, S Manigandan, A Karuppaswamy, I Vetrivel, P Bhuvaneshwaran, M Ragavan.
Dindigul Dragons - Shivam Singh
Dindigul Dragons paid 15.95 lakh to get hold of Shivam Singh, making the 26-year-old from Bihar the third-most expensive buy in the auction. The hard-hitting batter is yet to play white-ball cricket for his state side but has featured in five-first class games, scoring 229 runs @ 25.44, including one century.
He was even bought by Punjab Kings in the last IPL auction but didn’t get to play a single game. Recently, Shivam became the first batter to smash a double century in the 48-year history of Goswami Ganesh Dutt Cricket Tournament in New Delhi. Now playing under someone like R Ashwin will only make him better.
Full squad: Shivam Singh, Subodh Bhati, Ravichandran Ashwin, Varun Chakravarthy, Saravana Kumar, Baba Indrajith, Adithya Ganesh, Boopathi Vaishna Kumar, R Vimal Kumar, Mathivanan, G Hemant Kumar, G Kishoor, VP Diran, Tamil Dhilleepan, Advaith Sharma, Rohan Ravi Bhutra, C Sarath Kumar, S Arun, P Vignesh, Affan Khader.
Ba11sy Trichy - Gurjapneet Singh
A tall left-arm seamer is always going to be an exciting prospect in Indian cricket, and Gurjapneet would want to make an impression in the TNPL 2023. The 24-year-old has already played one season, in 2021, where he picked up seven wickets in nine innings at an economy of just 6.5. He was even a net bowler for CSK. Ashwin called the impressive left-armer with a good temperament and someone who has a lot of variations.
Full squad: T Natarajan, Anthony Das, Ganga Sridhar Raju, Silambarasan, R Rajkumar, Athisayaraj Davidson, Daryl Ferrario, Akshay Srinivasan, Shajahan, Monish Satish, R Alexander, Jafar Jamal, Mani Bharathi, K Easwaran, Francis Rokins, G Godson, Karthick Shanmugam, SP Vinod.
Salem Spartans - Sunny Sandhu
The fast-bowling all-rounder has been touted as the next big thing because of the obvious reason - there aren’t too many like him in Indian cricket. The 19-year-old can swing the ball both ways and is also a capable hitter down the order. In the 2022 edition, Sandhu took eight wickets at an economy of 6.1 and an SR of 20.3, apart from scoring 72 runs at a strike rate of 146.9. He was good last season, but this year could be the one where he takes his stocks higher.
Full squad: Abhishek Tanwar, Sunny Sandhu, Kaushik Gandhi, Maan K Bafna, Mokit Hariharan, Ganesh Murthi, Jagannath Sinivas, Sachin Rathi, Amith Sathvik, R Kavin, Muhammad Adnan Khan, Akash Sumra, S Aravind, S Abhishek, Gowri Shankar, Guru Sayee, Selvakumar, Yuvaraj V, Karthikeyan, R Prasanth.
