TNPL 2024 Preview: Which Teams Look Strongest?

The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) returns for its eighth installment with renewed vigor and more opportunities for talent to come out of India’s richest regional T20 league. A launchpad for so many talents who have come through the league’s ranks, the eighth season of the TNPL promises to be the most captivating ever with the eight evenly matched teams promising enthralling cricketing action that is set to unfold across five venues and 32 matches culminating in the final in Chennai, on Sunday, 4 August. 

So let’s take a look at the scenes going on behind the veil as we await the curtain raiser between defending champions Lyca Kovai Kings and the record champions Chepauk Super Gillies on Friday, July 5. 

QUICK RECAP  

The 7th edition was a season of many firsts for the TNPL with the Decision Review System (DRS) available to the teams. It made the TNPL the first league in India to employ the system. The TNPL also drew a leaf out of the IPL by introducing the Impact Player Rule that allowed teams to name upto four substitutes for each game, offering more flexibility and options.

TNPL 2023: LEAGUE TABLE 

Lyca Kovai Kings become back-to-back champions becoming the second team after the Chepauk Super Gillies to win consecutive TNPL titles.  The defending champions stood out from the rest thanks to their dominant performances that continued all the way to their title triumph as they trounced the Nellai Royal Kings by a whopping 104 runs in the final. 

Thanks to the impact of the TNPL, more than 10 players who ply their trade in the league found their way into the rosters of IPL teams, making TNPL the best represented regional league in India and improving its already growing stature. As a result, the TNPL is fast emerging as the runway for talent to take off and establish themselves in the shortest format of the game. Season 8 promises to add more fireworks, flair and competition as the eight competing teams return to battle it out to be crowned champions. 

That intent was set at the TNPL auction conducted at the start of February this year with all teams going hammer and tongs in their quest to get the best talent and combinations onboard. Bidding wars were commonplace for experienced Turks as well as exciting new talents. 

TNPL AUCTION 2024: WILL BIG NAMES SHINE? 

If the 2023 edition was a season of many firsts for the TNPL, 2024 has already set the course with the auction conducted in early February setting a lot of early precedents. The event saw 144 players go under the hammer with 61 of them finding home among the eight teams. 

MARQUEE SIGNINGS 

A number of established names and emerging talents found teams fighting tooth and nail for them leading to high fees being paid. 

• The iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans made their dreams known as they splashed ₹22 lakh on R Sai Kishore and ₹11.25 lakh on pacer T Natarajan, adding experience and international quality to their ranks. 
• The Trichy Grand Cholas (formerly Ba11sy Trichy) were determined to put a poor campaign in 2023 behind them by splurging ₹22 lakh on all-rounder Sanjay Yadav. 
• The Salem Spartans were the busiest of the lot, signing 11 of the 61 players purchased. They too were among the big spenders, signing all-rounder S Harish Kumar for ₹15.4 lakh and explosive batsman R Vivek for ₹11 lakh. 
• The record champions Chepauk Super Gillies were not to be left behind as they acquired the services of hard-hitting all-rounder Abhishek Tanwar for ₹12.2 lakh and experienced pacer G Periyasamy for nearly ₹9 lakh. 
• Dindigul Dragons who count veteran Indian spinner R Ashwin and Subramanian Badrinath among their ranks added yet another marquee name with Tamil Nadu pacer Sandeep Warrier being brought onboard for a fee of ₹10.5 lakh. 

🌟 Presenting the premier picks of the TNPL Player Auction 2024!#TNPL2024 #TNPLAuction #NammaOoruNammaGethu pic.twitter.com/soLTRPGRIH — TNPL (@TNPremierLeague) February 7, 2024

A host of other names made their way for big money, thereby setting the stage for some explosive action and gripping storylines to be witnessed this season. 

HOW DO THE TEAMS STACK UP? 

As the teams get set for yet another season of exhilarating cricket action in the TNPL, they have laid down the marker with marquee signings, management of team balance and a whole new bunch of talents set to make their name on the big stage. While 2023 saw the Lyca Kovai Kings dominate proceedings from start to finish, 2024 promises to be a more closely-fought occasion. So let’s take a quick look at how the eight teams stack up going into the new campaign. 

CHEPAUK SUPER GILLIES

The record champions of the league will look to put a disappointing 2023 campaign behind them as they missed out on the playoffs. It ended an era of unprecedented dominance where the Super Gillies won a hat-trick of TNPL titles between 2019 to 2022. A key reason for their failure was their lacklustre bowling attack, with Rahil Shah picking the most wickets (9) for them which still placed him 15th among the highest wicket-takers in the tournament. 

The men from the state’s capital set out to cover the chinks in their armour from last season, signing all-rounder Abhishek Tanwar and pacer G Periyasamy who add firepower to their bowling ranks. Tanwar won the Purple Cap in the 2022 edition after picking 17 wickets and also fills in as a handy lower order batsman. 

Meanwhile, Periyasamy returned to the team where he began his TNPL career after spells at Nellai Royal Kings and Salem Spartans. The slingy pacer was the highest wicket taker in the league in 2019, picking 21 wickets and leading the Super Gillies to the first of their three successive titles.

The additions of Tanwar and Periyasamy, along with Daryl S Ferrario and Aswin Crist, strengthen their bowling which add to their stacked batting talent containing the likes of Aparajith Baba, N Jagadeesan and Pradosh Ranjan Paul among others. As a result, the Super Gillies once again have created a team that gives them options to dominate with bat and ball. They would also be chomping at the bit to play the second qualifier and/or the final which is set to be played in Chennai, their home base. 

All things considered, the men from the capital bear a balanced unit and could very well count themselves as favorites to add a record-extending fifth TNPL title to their glistening cabinet. 

DINDIGUL DRAGONS 

Despite having the most illustrious name in the league in R Ashwin as their skipper, the TNPL title has always eluded the Dindigul Dragons. They were runners-up in back-to-back editions in 2018 and 2019 and were undone by a strong Nellai Royal Kings side in the playoffs last year. 

Coached by veteran batsman Subramaniam Badrinath, Dindigul would look to go one better in 2024 and snapped up experienced pacer Sandeep Warrier for ₹10.5 lakh as their marquee signing at the auction. 

Except for the purchase of Warrier, the Dragons did not splurge the big bucks like the other teams putting their faith on talents for the future. The addition of Sandeep Warrier adds firepower to their bowling ranks which also contains the established names of the aforementioned R Ashwin and Varun Chakravarthy as well as their top wicket-taker from last season Subodh Bhati (15 wickets). 

The Ashwin-led side also have strong batting options with Shivam Singh (356 runs) and Baba Indrajith (227 runs) leading their charge with the bat last season. But their bowling looks their strongest suit and could very well prove to be the difference for the Dragons in their quest to get that first TNPL title to Dindigul. 

iDREAM TIRUPPUR TAMIZHANS 

The Tiruppur Tamizhans finished sixth last season and made their intentions clear on turning a corner this time around as they snapped up the experienced pair of R Sai Kishore and T Natarajan, forking out a league record fee of ₹22 lakh to acquire the services of the former. 

The addition of the experienced duo adds international quality to Tiruppur’s ranks. Furthermore, the presence of Vijay Shankar gives Tiruppur a potent trio of experienced players who could be critical for their side’s fortunes. 

A key point of contention for the Tiruppur Tamizhans is their batting. Last season, their highest run scorer was 23-year-old Tushar Raheja who scored only 195 runs with the next best being Vijay Shankar with 144 runs. The paucity of runs contributed to their downfall last season. 

Therefore, despite the additions of Sai Kishore and Natarajan which make them a potent bowling force, the batting unit needs to fire for the Tiruppur Tamizhans to do better than their 6th placed finish last season. But one can expect the bowling to bear the brunt of leading their fortunes in 2024. 

LYCA KOVAI KINGS 

The defending champions and consecutive champions at that, Lyca Kovai Kings come into 2024 looking to continue their good work from the last two seasons. As a result, the Kings come into 2024 with the thought of “If it ain’t broken, why fix it?” as they look stacked across the board with match winners available across all departments. 

Their captain Shahrukh Khan is also one of the most established names in the domestic circuit having made his mark in the IPL with the Punjab Kings and now at Gujarat Titans. But the Kings’ skipper came in clutch for his side with the ball last season, picking up 17 wickets and winning the Purple Cap for his side. 

The Kovai Kings also count the likes of Sai Sudharsan, who has established himself as one for the future of not just Tamil Nadu cricket but Indian cricket having already made his ODI debut at the age of 21, in 2023. Sudarsan top scored for the Kings with 371 runs last season at an average of 74 and a strike rate of 172.55. In the absence of the young run machine, the Kings had youngsters like J Suresh Kumar (280 runs at a strike rate of 162) and U Mukilesh (202 runs at a strike rate of 122) who stepped up with the bat. 

‘Kings’ of the Land for the last two years, can the Kovai Kings win it a third consecutive time? (Credit: Cricket.com)

But like they say, “batsmen win you games, bowlers win you titles.” The Kovai Kings exemplified the epithet with four of their bowlers featuring in the top ten wicket-takers of the tournament. The Purple Cap winning exploits of Shahrukh was further supported by the miserly spin duo of Manimaran Siddarth and Jhatavedh Subramanyan who picked up 11 wickets apiece at an economy rate of 5.61 and 6.57 respectively. It helped the Kings put the pressure on the opponents in the middle overs and especially in the final when they wrecked havoc on the Nellai Royal Kings, picking seven wickets among them and leading the Kings to victory by a margin of 104 runs. 

While the availability of their star batsman Sai Sudharsan remains uncertain, the Kings didn’t spend much in the auction, focusing more on retaining their core of players who still keep Kovai well-placed to make it a hat-trick of titles in 2024. 

NELLAI ROYAL KINGS 

The Nellai Royal Kings (previously the Kanchi Veerans/Tiruvallur Veerans) made the final of the TNPL for the first time last season, and while they endured a chastening end to their campaign, they played some exhilarating cricket throughout the tournament. The Royal Kings were well-served by playing most of their games in their home base of Tirunelveli and could once again use it to their advantage this year. 

The Royal Kings possess a strong batting unit which was the backbone of their run to the final. Their batting fortunes was led by the young Ajitesh Gurusamy who topped the run scoring charts in the TNPL. The 21-year-old smashed 385 runs at an average of 64 and a stunning strike rate of 163 showcasing no nerves of playing in his first TNPL season. Ajitesh also hit the most sixes in the league with 21. 

Ajitesh G was the find of the TNPL last season leading the run-scoring charts with 365 runs. (Credit: ESPNCricInfo)

He was ably aided by the experienced Arun Karthick who scored with 263 runs at a strike rate of 165. The Royal Kings were also helped by handy contributions from Nidhish Rajagopal (205 runs at a strike rate of 135) and R Easwaran (152 runs at a strike rate of 165) in the middle order.

The Royal Kings were also well led with the ball by the duo of M Poiyamozhi (13 wickets) and Sonu Yadav (11 wickets). But the Royal Kings find themselves a little deficient in their bowling department with the departures of Poiyamozhi (to Salem Spartans) and Sandeep Warrier (to the Dindigul Dragons). 

To mitigate the impact, they put their money on improving their bowling contingent, purchasing pacer R Silambarasan and all-rounder Mokit Hariharan. The duo look set to take advantage of conditions in Tirunelveli where stats indicate good returns for pacers (69 wickets in 10 games). 

With their batting looking more likely to fire again, the onus would be on their new look bowling attack to gel soon as that could prove to be the difference in their quest to go one better than last year. 

SALEM SPARTANS 

Despite showing some promise, the Salem Spartans couldn’t get themselves going last season finishing second bottom with only two wins in their campaign. It continued their poor run since being rebranded (from Tuti Patriots) in 2021 as the Spartans have never finished above 7th in the TNPL. 

Last season, the Spartans had to depend solely on the all-round ability of Sunny Sandhu who was their top run-getter (182) and wicket-taker (10 wickets) indicating their struggles. 

The side therefore came with a refreshed approach to the 2024 auction and were the busiest of all teams, signing 11 players, the highest in the auction room. As a result, the Spartans showed their desire to overturn their fortunes in the league and make their mark as the team to watch out for. 

They started big by snapping up marquee all-rounders S Harish Kumar and R Vivek for big money before adding M Poiyamozhi (for ₹7.25 lacs) who was the highest wicket taker (13 wickets) for the last season’s runners-up Nellai Royal Kings and Aushik Srinivas (for ₹2 lacs) to bolster their bowling reserves. 

Salem will hope that their big transformation in personnel reaps rewards at the earliest and turns their fortunes for the better this season by leading them to their first playoff appearance in the TNPL. 

SIECHEM MADURAI PANTHERS

Call it numerology or blind luck, a name change from the Madurai Super Giants to Madurai Panthers proved to be a blessing for the side who won their first and only TNPL title in their first season sporting their new name in 2018. Since then, the Panthers have been one of the most consistent sides in the TNPL, reaching the playoffs in three of the next four seasons, including the last. 

Madurai possesses a potent side with the likes of Swapnil Singh, Murugan Ashwin and Washington Sundar bringing rich experience of playing in the IPL and international cricket. But their most potent weapon last season was left-arm pacer Gurjapneet Singh. The 25-year-old impressed last season, picking 15 wickets at a strike rate of 11.86 and an economy of 7.11 to finish second in the highest wicket-takers list in the tournament. 

But the Panthers need their batting to fire, with most of their runs coming from their top order combo of Hari Nishanth (182 runs) and S Lokeshwar (163 runs). They have added options to their batting reserves by purchasing the likes of N Chaturved (₹6 crores) and Uthirasamy Sasidev (₹5.2 crores). 

In Swapnil Singh and Sundar, the Panthers have two of the best all-rounders in the league and will hope they come good this term. Having consistently made the playoffs over the last few years, the Panthers will hope that their big names will finally break the jinx and bring home a first title since 2018. 

TRICHY GRAND CHOLAS 

Like their place on this list, the Trichy Grand Cholas (Ba11sy Trichy last season) finished rock bottom of the TNPL last season, failing to win a single game. Like the Madurai Panthers in 2018, the Grand Cholas will hope that a change in name brings about a change in fortunes. 

But they’ve made a statement not just with the change in name, but with a change in personnel. The Grand Cholas made their mark by purchasing all-rounder Sanjay Yadav for a whopping ₹22 lacs, making him the joint-highest paid player in the league. The 29-year-old will turn up for his third different side in the TNPL having previously represented the Super Gillies and the Nellai Royal Kings. Yadav has the ability to play anywhere in the middle and lower order and bowl a miserly spell with his slow left arm orthodox. But the Grand Cholas’ purchase indicates a lot of faith in a player who only returned 102 runs at a strike rate of 118 and two wickets last season. Hence, it remains to be seen how well Yadav deals with the massive price tag and the pressure that’s been put on him. 

Trichy, who let go of T Natarajan, were also overly dependent on the duo of Ganga Sridhar Raju and Daryl Ferario who looked the only players capable of making some sizable contribution with the bat and the ball. Therefore, they would hope that a few more names put their hands up this season and a change in name and personnel brings about a fresh start and a turnaround in their fortunes from a woeful campaign last season. It still seems, in all likelihood, that they could face another season of finding their feet before being able to fly. 

FACTORS TO CONSIDER

The eighth season of the TNPL promises to be its most exciting campaign yet with all eight teams seemingly equally matched. The potential absence of a few big names for some teams could also cause some change in the competitive dynamics of the tournament. 

But there are many other factors that could influence proceedings in this year’s TNPL. In a league where only eight teams compete, fortunes could swing around very quickly with more and more teams always in the mix for the playoffs. 

IMPACT PLAYER RULE 

The 2023 season featured the impact player rule for the first time and could play a significant role in the planning and strategy of the various teams. The 2024 season of the IPL saw some huge scores being posted with more batsmen being made available to add to the depth of batting thanks to the impact player rule. One could expect a similar trend to follow in the TNPL which contains a plethora of batting talent. 

The 2023 edition saw the most 200+ scores being hit in the league’s eight-year history, in the same year that the impact player rule was first introduced. Coincidence? We think not. 

The effect of the impact player rule in the IPL is well-documented as it offers teams an opportunity to add more batting firepower to their ranks. But a key bone of contention regarding the impact player rule was how it has reduced the impact of all-rounders with specialist players finding it easy to play within their roles, either batting or bowling, rather than having to contribute in both. But on the counter, the rule could also allow players to flourish in a specific skill set where they might be required the most in. Therefore, the key would be how teams use these impact players and under what situations would they utilize different players as impact players. 

PLAYING CONDITIONS 

Another factor that could influence the usage of impact players and more importantly the fortunes of the different teams would be the playing conditions. With the TNPL starting markedly late from last year’s edition, it could lead to different overhead conditions compared to last season. 

Another key point would be the composition of the various teams compared to last season, with more teams preferring for bowling talent in the auction. Last season indicated that pacers ruled the roost in the TNPL while spinners were the more economical, leaving teams in a quandary about their choices between sustenance and control. 

2023 TNPL: Pacers vs Spinners

While the spinners might have taken less wickets, the pitches across the TNPL offered more control to them than pacers. With the impact player rule also in usage, teams could simply employ more batsmen who could counter the pacers and deal more damage even at the cost of a few wickets. Hence, it would be interesting to witness how teams use their bowling reserves. 

Another key consideration would be the Qualifier 2 and the final which would be played in Chennai, bringing the TNPL to the capital city for the first time since 2021. That could play on the minds of the teams who would need to plan on countering the conditions in Chennai which ideally favours the spinners. 

As a result, a lot of teams have picked up more all-rounders, giving themselves more options across both departments in 2024. But it remains to be seen how a Trichy Grand Cholas use a Sanjay Yadav while a Chepauk Super Gillies try to bring the best out of Abhishek Tanwar. 

The permutations and combinations form just one part of many thrilling narratives that the TNPL is set to showcase in its eighth season as the most watched regional league in the country returns in its biggest avatar yet, with more gripping action and promising talent set to take center stage.