TNPL 2021, which will be the fifth season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League T20 tournament will start from July 19 onwards as the state government has given the event its clearance.
All the matches in the eight-team league in TNPL 2021, including the final, will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium. The 2020 edition of the TNPL was not held owing to the COVID-19 pandemic and the lockdown.
TNPL 2021 Will Begin On July 19 And All Matches Will Be In Chennai
The fifth season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League T20 tournament will begin on July 19 as the state government has given the event its clearance. All the matches in the eight-team league, including the final, will be played at the MA Chidambaram Stadium at Chennai, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) secretary R S Ramasaamy said.
“The Tamil Nadu government formally approved holding the TNPL 2021 tournament on July 1 subject to no spectators and strict Covid protocols. After discussions with all the stakeholders, it was decided to start the 2021 edition of TNPL from July 19 to August 15,” Ramasaamy was quoted as saying in a release on Wednesday.
The teams are currently in quarantine at a city hotel and will begin practice on July 9, the TNCA secretary said.
“The teams are starting their practice on July 9 at Chepauk after extensive testing, quarantine and following strict bubble rules. The BCCI Anti-corruption team will be in place for the tournament for education and monitoring,” Ramasaamy added.
Unlike the Test series between India and England where a partial crowd was allowed, there won’t be any spectators in the TNPL 2021 due to the increased Covid-19 pandemic situation in the state. All 8 teams will have to adhere to the tight covid protocols. Chepauk Super Gillies won the last TNPL edition in 2019.
Chepauk Super Gillies, captained by Kaushik Gandhi are the defending champions having won the title in 2019 as the tournament was not staged last year due to the pandemic.
Ravichandran Ashwin Will Miss While All Rounder Vijay Shankar Will Be Seen In Action In TNPL 2021
Some of Tamil Nadu’s leading players — Ravichandran Ashwin, MS Washington Sundar, R Sai Kishore, Varun Chakravarthy, and Sandeep Warrier — would not be available for the tournament as they are busy with national commitments. Experienced keeper-batsman veteran Dinesh Karthik is away in the UK on commentary duties and is also likely to miss the event.
India all-rounder Vijay Shankar is among the notable names who will be seen in action. TNPL 2020 was not held owing to the prevailing COVID-19 pandemic crisis which resulted in the lockdown.
The T20 league features eight teams — defending champions Chepauk Super Gillies, Dindigul Dragons, LYCA Kovai Kings, Salem Spartans, iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans, Ruby Trichy Warriors, Nellai Royal Kings, and Siechem Madurai Panthers.
All 32 matches, including the final, will be played at MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai. There will be seven doubleheaders in the league phase, which will be held without a break. The matches will be broadcast by Star India on its various channels including Star Sports Tamil.