Tamil Nadu Premier League draft released, Pandya brothers included

Brothers Krunal Pandya and Hardik Pandya have been included in the players draft of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), where a total of 951 players have registered. The draft was released on Saturday and includes players from several states as well.

Former U-19 captain of the Indian team Unmukt Chand and spinner Piyush Chawla have also made it to the draft, including some big names like Ravichandran Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik, Murali Vijay and S Badrinath to name a few.

Krunal Pandya enjoyed an excellent season in the 2016 Indian Premier League, becoming an integral part of the Mumbai Indians team, playing as an all-rounder. Although he had an excellent campaign, his brother Hardik Pandya did not have such a tournament, as he failed in both the batting and bowling department.

Krunal scored 237 runs in 12 matches for Mumbai Indians, maintaining an average of 39.50 at an excellent strike rate of 191.12. The southpaw had an impressive performance with the ball too as he took six wickets in twelve matches, with his best performance coming when he took 2 wickets for 15 runs.

A source close to developments told Times of India: “All the big players who are registered with the TNCA are there in the draft.” The source added: “We are extremely happy with the players’ response for the tournament. About 180 of them are likely to get picked by the franchises and we want each side to have the best possible squad so that the competition is intense and the crowd gets to see quality cricket.”

The draft was sent to all the team franchises on Saturday, with the source further adding: “The TNPL officials got together to frame the rules and players' list and we have sent it across to the franchises so that the next stage of discussion can begin in the coming days. The players will be picked by the franchises on July 22.”

There will be a meeting held where all the eight franchises will be called. The source said: “We want to ensure that everyone concerned with the tournament is on the same page.” According to the guidelines, the highest bidders, i.e. Tuti Patriots will have the first option to pick the players based on the players’ draft.

The Tamil Nadu Premier League will feature 27 matches, played across Chennai, Natham, and Tirunelveli. It is bound to be a three-week tournament with the winners to win a prize money of Rs 1 crore and runner up winning Rs 60 lakhs.