New Delhi, Jul 17 (UNI) The fifth season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), which gets underway from July 19 and run till August 15, will be broadcast on Star Sports 1 Tamil and Star Sports 2 SD & HD and Disney+ Hotstar VIP.
Eight teams - Chepauk Super Gillies, Dindigul Dragons, LYCA Kovai Kings, Salem Spartans, Idream Tiruppur Tamizhans, Ruby Trichy Warriors, Nellai Royal Kings, and Siechem Madurai Panthers will be vying for top honours.
The tournament, comprising of 32 matches, will be held only at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chepauk and will kickstart with Lyca Kovai Kings squaring off with Salem Spartans.
The commentary panel for the fifth season of TNPL will consist of familiar names such as Pradeep Muthu, Abhinav Mukund, L Balaji, S Ramesh, Naanee (KV Sathyanarayanan), Suhail Chandok, Padamjit Sehrawat and Nikhil Chopra.
Big names like Ravichandran Ashwin and Washington Sundar are scheduled to miss it due to national commitments. However, the likes of Sandeep Warrier, mystery spinner Varun Chakravarthy and left-arm spinner Sai Kishore will take part in the tournament after completing their national duties.
Meanwhile, the league will boast the presence of big names like India all-rounder Vijay Shankar, IPL’s batting & bowling stars Shahrukh Khan & Murugan Ashwin and N Jagadeesan, who is known for his performance at the Vijay Hazare Trophy.
The recently concluded TNPL Draft saw 40 players being picked for the eight franchises.
Among the others to watch out for include, Chepauk Super Gillies’ G Periyaswamy, who, with a Malinga-like sling arm bowling action, was the find of last season.
Dindigul Dragons’ left-arm orthodox spinner M Silambarasan is also another player to keep a close watch on. After playing for different teams in the last four seasons, the Baba twins (Aparajith & Indrajith) finally reunite in TNPL and will be donning the Nellai Royal Kings jersey.
The spotlight, however, will be on defending champions Chepauk Super Gillies (CSG) and skipper Kaushik Gandhi, who will play the entire tournament on their home ground. Additionally, CSG’s coach Hemang Badani, will be eyeing his third TNPL title.
S Badrinath will be yet another coach who will turn heads, as he aims to end Dindigul Dragons’ title drought in the tournament.
The start of the league on July 19 will also mark the return of two rechristened teams, Salem Spartans and iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans, while the Nellai Royal Kings replace the VB Kanchi Veerans.
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