On the evening of August 18, as India watched shuttler PV Sindhu guarantee herself a historic Olympic medal by reaching the final of the women’s singles at Rio 2016, Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni launched the Tamil Nadu Premier League, or TNPL, at a comparatively low-key function in Chennai.
As you may have figured out, the TNPL is going to be an annual Twenty20 cricket league held in Tamil Nadu. There are eight franchises: Albert Tuti Patriots, Chepauk Super Gillies, Lyca Kovai Kings, Madurai Super Giants, Ruby Kanchi Warriors, VB Thiruvallur Veerans, Dindigul Dragons and Karaikudi Kaalai.
The league, to be played from August 24 to September 18 this year, will have 27 matches, including two semi-finals and a final. There are three host cities: Chennai, Tirunelveli and Natham. The eight teams have been split into two groups of four. Each team in a group will play each other twice, which means a minimum of six matches.
The TNPL will feature marquee players such as Ravichandran Ashwin, Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik and Lakshmipathy Balaji. Former cricketers Robin Singh and Australia’s Michael Bevan have been roped in as coaches. Another Australian, Matthew Hayden, is the brand ambassador of the league.
Familiar figures
But here’s the most important bit of information: the league’s main sponsor is India Cements. Ring a bell? The same India Cements company that owns the Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings, which was banned from participating for two years in 2015 for its involvement in the IPL spot-fixing and betting scandal in 2013.
The managing director of India Cements is former Board of Control of Cricket in India president N Srinivasan. Dhoni, who captained CSK for seven seasons, is the vice-president of the company. Gurunath Meiyappan, Srinivasan's son-in-law, was indicted by a Supreme Court panel for match-fixing and leaking sensitive information.
Srinivasan’s CSK is banned from playing in the IPL till 2017. So what does he do? He starts his own league, making use of his position as the president of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association. “The whole idea is to give an opportunity for players in Tamil Nadu to showcase themselves so that they have better prospects in the bigger tournaments that are being played today,” Srinivasan said at the TNPL launch. Dhoni echoed the official line, saying the tournament will help discover youngsters in the state.
One of the reasons the Srinivasan-headed TNCA decided to launch the league was to make up for the absence of high-profile matches in Chennai, reported ESPNcricinfo. The MA Chidambaram Stadium did not host an IPL match this year because of CSK’s ban. The last international match it hosted was in October 2015, a One-Day International between India and South Africa.
“We are not having [any matches] so we thought, ‘okay, let us do this for our boys,’” TNCA Secretary Kasi Viswanathan told the website. The report also said that TNCA officials have “murmured privately” about how the current BCCI leadership has been “vindictive towards Srinivasan” by allotting four non-televised Women's World Twenty20 matches to Chennai earlier this year.
The TNPL has also requested the BCCI to allow players from other states to take part in the tournament and release any Tamil Nadu cricketers who aren't picked for the Duleep Trophy, which begins on August 23. However, three days before the TNPL was scheduled to begin, the organisers had not got a response from the BCCI, reported The Hindu.
Who needs the BCCI?
The tournament will go ahead regardless of the BCCI’s decision. Promos of the league have already begun appearing on Star Sports, which is also the official broadcaster of the Indian cricket team’s home matches. Tickets for the matches are available on BookMyShow.com from Rs 50. With high-profile names such as Dhoni, Hayden and Ashwin involved, it’s a clear message from Srinivasan to the BCCI: I don’t need your support.
Srinivasan also made another interesting statement during the launch. Referring to CSK, he said, “We will all have to wait for one more year and then the men in yellow will be back. And Dhoni will be wearing the yellow jersey.” After CSK was banned, Dhoni was drafted by new franchise Rising Pune Supergiants. It seems an agreement is already in place for his return to Chennai after the ban ends.
Indian cricket fans, meanwhile, can only hope that the TNPL will actually help breed youngsters for the national team, whatever the motivations of Srinivasan and Co.