Tamil Nadu Premier League 2016: Teams and full players list

The inaugural edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2016 is nearly upon us and cricket fans from the South Indian state is brimming with excitement about the eight-team extravaganza which is going to unfold before them over the course of the next three weeks and more.

The brainchild of former BCCI supremo and the current TNCA President, N Srinivasan, the TNPL will be hoping to emulate and even better the success of the Karnataka Premier League which has emerged as the premier state-wise T20 tournament in the country helping unearth talented youngsters who have gone on to represent the national side and the India A side.

With the abundance of talent in Tamil Nadu, a state with a rich history in Indian cricket, the fans who have been deprived of high-quality cricket at the state’s premier international venue, the MA Chidambaram Stadium owing to a dispute over the stands at the stadium over the past few years, will flock to Chepauk in huge numbers to catch the frenzy and excitement of T20 cricket.

The upcoming cricketers in the state will get a chance to lock horns with established international stars like Murali Vijay and Dinesh Karthik and though all teams head into the first edition of the TNPL on a level playing field the presence of star players does give a few teams the edge. But as we all know, a T20 match can turn around in a matter of seconds and teams will do well not underestimate the opposition in the most exciting format of the game.

Let’s have a brief look at all the eight teams which will be competing over 31 matches at three venues in the inaugural edition of the TNPL.

1. Tuti Patriots

Owner: Thoothukudi Sports and Entertainment Private Limited

Led by wicketkeeper-batsman Dinesh Karthik, Tuti Patriots appears to be one of the strongest sides on paper for the TNPL with the likes of veteran cricketer Lakshmipathy Balaji and promising youngster Abhinav Mukund also in their ranks.

Players: Dinesh Karthik, L Balaji, Washington Sunder, Aswinathisayaraj Dav Crist, Abhinav Mukund, Aushik Srinivas, Kaushik Gandhi, Anand Subramanian, Akash Sumra, Sathyanarayan R, Sushil U, Ganesh Moorthi M, Athisayaraj Davidson, Maaruthi Raghav, Vishaal R, Siddarth S Ahuja, Lakshman V, Nathan SP, Nicul Anand

2. Dindigul Dragons

Owner: Take Solutions Limited

The star attraction of the side is undoubtedly India’s ace matchwinner Ravichandran Ashwin who will return to India high on confidence after a highly successful tour of the West Indies. Joining him will be Murugan Ashwin, the young spinner who will be looking to build upon the promise he showed in the IPL for the Rising Pune Supergiants.

Players: R Ashwin, Ashwin M, Natarajan, Sanjay MS, Jagadeesan N, Ganga Sridhar Raju, Subramania Siva, Sunny Kumar Singh, Mukunth, Wilkins Victor, Ashwin Venkataraman, Shyam Sundar, Dinesh S, Yazh Arul Mozhi, Prashant Prabhu, Abhishek, Vivek, Adithya Arun, Silambarasan.

3. Lyca Kovai Kings

Owner: Lyca Productions Private Limited

Led by Indian Test opener Murali Vijay, Kovai Kings will be yet another side with big ambitions for the inaugural edition of the TNPL. With the city of Coimbatore as their base, they can certainly bank upon a wide support to cheer them on.

Players: Murali Vijay, Syed Mohammed, Mohammed M, Suryap Prakash L, Vijay Shankar, Siva Kumar, Rohith R, Vignesh K, Anirudh Sita Ram, Ajith Ram, Harish Kumar, Akshay V Srinivasan, Arun B, Anchit D, Kamalesh M, Tarun Srinivas, Adhithya Giridhar, Gowtham Thamarai.

4. Madurai Super Giants

Owner: Kothari (Madras) International Limited

Coach: Michael Bevan.

The presence of former Australian cricketer Michael Bevan, considered by many as the greatest ODI batsmen of all time, in the dugout as the head coach is undoubtedly Madurai’s biggest strength. It will be interesting how he imparts his vast experience to the side which will be led by Arun K

Players: Arun Karthick, Suresh Kumar, Thiyagarajan, Francis Rokins, Chandrasekar, Vignesh Ganapathi, Raja M, Shijit Chandran, Vignesh L, Maan K Bafna, Muruganantham S, Aswin Kumar, Amarnath, Varun Narendar, Sakthi P, Anton Andrew Subikshan, Mihir R, Edward Kennedy, Madhu C.

5. Ruby Kanchi Warriors

Owner: Ruby Builders and Promoters

Mentor: Brett Lee

Bought by Ruby Builders for 3.69 crores, the Ruby Kanchi Warriors is yet another TNPL franchise with an Australian at the helm having roped in speedster Brett Lee as the team’s mentor. He will look to impart his youthful exuberance to the young skipper B Indrajith who will need to keep a cool head to bring out the best out of his players.

Players: Indrajith B, Koushik J, Jesuraj R, Shahrukh Khan M, Bharath Shankar, Prathiban, Varun Kumar, Prabhu M, Kaushik J, Ganesh L, Adithya Ganesh, Siddharth S, Suthesh T, Nilesh Subramanian, Akkil Srinaath, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, Mitchell Anthony, Trilok Nag, Aditya

6. VB Thiruvallur Veerans

Owner: VB Cricket Academy

Former Indian cricketer VB Chandrasekar is at the helm of the franchise which has Indrajith’s brother Aparjith as the skipper.

Players: Aparjith B, Abhishek Tanwar, Rahil S Shah, Kavin R, Chaturved NS, Malolan Rangarajan, Rohit R, Jaganath Sinivas, Vignesh GV, Sanjay Yadav, Arun S, Samruddh Bhat, Hari Nishaanth, Lakshminarayanan, Govindaraj, Silambarasan, Mukilesh, Samuel S, Santosh Shiv.

7. Karaikudi Kaalai

Owner: Chettinad Apparels Private Limited

Sporting a green and blue jersey will be the Karaikudi Kaalai franchise who will be hopeful that the combination of coach Robin Singh and captain S Badrinath can help the side get off to a winning start in the TNPL.

Coach: Robin Singh.

Players: Badrinath, Aniruda, Sunil Sam, Suresh Babu, Lokeshwar, Ganapathi Chandrasekar, Shoaib MD Khan, Vishal Vaidhya, Sonu Yadav, Rajkumar, Mohan Prasath, Vijay Kumar, Abhinav M, Jerome A, Srinivasan R, Kiran Akash, Sujay S, Swaminathan S, Shahjahan.

8. Chepauk Super Gillies

Owner: Metronation Chennai Television Private Limited

Rounding off the set of teams is the Chennai-based side which will enjoy the humongous support of the iconic MA Chidambaram Stadium. The side will call upon the hugely experienced Hemang Badani as coach while R Sathish will skipper the side.

Players: R Sathish, Yo Mahesh, Thalaivan Sargunam, Anthony Dhas, Gopinath, Sai Kishore, Sasidev, Joel Joseph, Tamil Kumaran, Alaxander R, Vasanth Saravanan S, Rahul B, Ashwath Mukunthan, Karthik S, Rajeel Abdul Rahman, Nirmal Kumar, Vasudevan, Aditya Barooah, Shibi Jawahar.