A scenic flood-lit ground, fun loving fans, celebrity commentators, star cricketers as coaches and competitive cricket at the centre. What more can you ask for? The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is fully-loaded entertainment package. Already a big hit among the cricket fans, even the skies stopped pouring to make way for the raining sixes and fours! The NPR College of Engineering and Technology ground was the venue for the grand spectacle and on this beautiful evening looked every bit like the one in Dharamshala.
True to the TNPL anthem “ Namma Ooru…Namma Gethu …,” (Our Town Our Pride.), fans on the ground showed off their passion for cricket. Some danced to the ‘kuthu’ songs matching every move of the cheer leaders while some painted their faces with the emblem of the team they support and freaked out. To add to the energy, there was a surprise visitor too -- cricketer Suresh Raina, who arrived to loud cheers and his presence instantly motivated the players.
“Cricket of this magnitude is unheard of in these parts. Though couple of Ranji Trophy matches were organised on this ground, entertaining cricket is what fans are longing for and TNPL is exactly doing that,” says R. Raja, cricket player with TVS Club.
By roping in Star Sports to beam the matches live internationally, TNPL has not only helped domestic players gain stardom but has also provided an opportunity for thousands of Tamils living all over the world to watch Tamil cricketers translating their potential to results. “It has renewed the hopes of both the fans and the players in the districts. TNPL could not have come at a better time when cricket in districts is at its lowest ebb. We hope these matches will ignite the cricket fever once again,” says R. Thiviaprahasam, secretary, Virudhunagar District Cricket Association. “Also it is a good platform for youngsters to step up their performance and aim for an IPL slot,” he adds.
Such kind of cricket is not new, as Karnataka State Cricket Association was the first one to kick start with their Karnataka Premier League and they were able to find number of promising talents and draft them straight into Indian Premier League even before they represented the State. “We are expecting similar results from this tournament. It was not easy for our district players to find a berth in the team as against the match-hardened Chennai players. But after this tournament our players too will become seasoned and will be in better frame of mind to face any competition,” hopes Thiviaprahasam.
Keeping this in mind the State organisation has changed the format of the senior cricket tournament for S.S. Rajan Trophy to 20/20. “Since the organisers stressed more on local talents, they did not go for cricketers from other States. Local players who performed well in the S.S. Rajan Trophy took most of the slots. For instance, Cuddalore player R. Rajkumar who hit a sparkling century became a star from nowhere. All franchisees aimed for him. There were lot of enquiries. Finally, he was picked by Karaikudi Kaalai,” he says.
Though cricket has come to the drawing room through satellite channels, watching matches live is a different experience altogether. The action off the field on the stands with fans carrying franchisee flags in a procession and dancing to peppy beats was exhilarating to watch. “We have seen only exhibition cricket matches live, but this experience is unique. As the matches are played with much intensity, it is competitive cricket at its highest level,” says P. Ramar who came from Thiruvallur, to watch the match between VB Thiruvallur Veerans and Madurai Super Giants.
Organisers also believe such private leagues are important to sustain the interest of the game. Fans did not mind travelling to watch matches as they were from neighbouring towns including Sivagangai, Virudhunagar, Theni, Tiruchi and also from places like Kanyakumari, Coimbatore and Thiruvallur apart from Madurai and Dindigul. In a way, cricket has brought good crowd to the city and good business for the hotels in Madurai and Dindigul.
