Tamil Nadu Premier League Betting: All You Need to Know (2024)

The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is a comparatively new cricket tournament that started in 2016, with teams participating from the southern state of Tamil Nadu.

In this article, we will discuss the basic structure of the league, participating teams, past winners, and some key stats that will help you in TNPL betting.

Brief About the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL)

One of the 28 states in India, Tamil Nadu is one of the most cricket-friendly states in the southern region of India.

The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is an Indian domestic T20 cricket tournament launched by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association in August 2016. It was inspired by the Indian Premier League, which is considered to be one of the top cricket tournaments worldwide.

The primary objective of starting this league was to support the local cricket players in the region by providing them with a professional platform to showcase their talent. Although restricted to a single state, the league has gained a significant fan base and is only growing in prominence.

Why Was the 2021 Tamil Nadu Premier League Postponed?

The 2020 TNPL season was entirely cancelled due to the pandemic. The 2021 season, which was scheduled to begin in June, was also postponed for the same reason.

However, there is good news. Though not officially announced yet, the TNPL 2021 season is expected to be conducted from mid-July to mid-August in a bio-secure environment in Chennai itself. Fingers crossed!

Structure of the League

The TNPL is played in a typical league cricket format where eight teams face each other in a round-robin format. The latter does not divide teams into sub-groups to be shortlisted for the semi-finals and finals, but instead stipulates that every team should face each other in the tournament.

The tournament follows a points-based table where the team with the highest points ranks first. Each team is awarded two points for every win, with their table rankings changing based on their points’ tally after every match.

Teams in the League

The league has a total of eight teams, each representing a region of Tamil Nadu. Let’s take a brief look at all of them:

Salem Spartans

Representing the district of Salem in Tamil Nadu, Salem Spartans (formerly known as Tuti Patriots) is owned by a VIVO smartphones distributor based in Chennai. The team won the first edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League in 2016.

Players to watch out for: Akshay V Srinivasan, with a strike rate of 281.81, one of the best in the league. The squad also has a healthy mix of all-rounders like Boopalan S, Subramaniam Siva, and the Indian national team player Washington Sundar.

Chepauk Super Gillies

Chepauk Super Gillies is the most successful TNPL franchise, having clinched the trophy twice. It fetched the second-highest bid after Salem Spartans, and is owned by a telecom industrialist from Chennai.

The team derives its title from a suburb in Chennai called Chepauk. There is also a cricket stadium in the city, popularly referred to as the Chepauk stadium.

Players to watch out for: The team has a brilliant bowling order in Periyasamy G and Harish Kumar S, who took 21 wickets (highest) and 16 wickets, respectively, in the 2019 season. The batting power is enviable with players like Gopinath, Sridhar, and Harish Kumar.

Lyca Kovai Kings

Lyca Kovai Kings represents the district of Coimbatore, also known as the ‘Manchester of India' due to its prominence as a textile hub. The team is owned by Lyca Productions, an entertainment company working in the Tamil movies industry.

Players to watch out for: The team has some good bowlers in Ajith Ram S and Natarajan T.

Siechem Madurai Panthers

Winners of the TNPL 2018 season, the Siechem Madurai Panthers were quite the underdogs in the first two seasons of the league. Representing the city of Madurai, the team was bought by Siechem Technologies.

Players to watch out for: Arun Karthick K B is an amazing batsman, having scored the third- highest runs (356 runs) in the 2019 season and the highest runs (472 runs) in the 2018 season. The team has a nice bowling bench with Abhishek Tanwar, Rahil S Shah, and Kiran Akash.

Ruby Trichy Warriors

Owned by a construction company, Ruby Builders, the Ruby Trichy Warriors represent the city of Trichy, renowned for its architectural and cultural heritage. However, the team has been consistently lacking in performance, always featuring in the bottom three of the table.

Players to watch out for: Vijay M can prove to be a game-changing batsman, having scored the second-highest runs (359 runs) in the last season. Meanwhile, on the bowling front, Saravana Kumar P looks like the best bet.

Nellai Royal Kings

Replacing the VB Kanchi Veerans, the Nellai Royal Kings is a new addition to the league in 2021. They are owned by Crown Forts Limited, a company in the business of recreational and sporting activities.

Players to watch out for: The team will be playing under a new title so let’s see how things play out. However, Aparajith B and Sanjay Yadav are the two batsmen who should definitely be on your radar.

Dindigul Dragons

One of the most exciting teams to watch in-play, Dindigul Dragons are owned by TAKE Solutions and represent Dindigul city. Although they have taken the top spot on the points table for the past two seasons, they've failed to achieve any trophy success.

Players to watch out for: The team is home to the internationally acclaimed spinner, R Ashwin, who also plays for the Indian national team. Silambarasan M and Abhinav M are bowlers who performed well in the 2019 season, and served as strong additions to the team’s bowling firepower.

IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans

Formerly known as Idream Karaikudi Kaalai, the team represent the Tiruppur city, and are now owned by the iDream group. They are one of the cheapest franchises in the TNPL and ranked at the bottom in the last season.

Players to watch out for: Aniruda S has proved to be the best batsman in the team to date. On the bowling front, Sunil Sam was the highest wicket-taker in the team, while Shajahan M offered the best economy (4.0) across all teams in the last season.

How Many Matches Are Played in the League?

TNPL is usually played during the July-August period, and hosts a total of 32 matches in a short period of just over one month.

The tournament follows a multi-tier format based on the points table. The matches can thus be divided into three stages:

1. League stage: Where each team plays against every other team (28 matches).
2. Qualifier stage: There are three matches in this stage: two qualifier matches and one eliminator match.

• First qualifier match: This is where the top two teams in the points table face off. The team that wins this match proceeds to the finals. The loser gets another chance in the second qualifier match.
• Eliminator: Here, the third and fourth team in the points table play against each other. Whoever wins plays the second qualifier match.
• Second qualifier match: This match takes place between the winner of the eliminator match and the team which lost the first qualifier. Whoever wins the second qualifier walks into the finals.

3. The Finals: This is the last match of the tournament which decides who takes the trophy home!

The match structure can be summarised in the infographic below:

Which Stadiums Host the Matches?

The matches in the first four seasons of the Tamil Nadu Premier League were held across the below three cricket stadiums in Tamil Nadu:

1. NPR College Ground, Dindigul
2. ICL Sankar Nagar Ground. Tirunelveli
3. M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai (also known as the Chepauk Stadium)

The NPR College Ground and the ICL Ground hosted the majority of matches, while the Chepauk was reserved for the finals and only a handful of other games.

In 2020, two more stadiums were scheduled to be included for the TNPL:

1. Salem Cricket Foundation Ground, Salem
2. SNR Sons College Ground, Coimbatore

However, there have been no TNPL matches ever since the pandemic broke out in 2020, and it is yet to be seen if these two new grounds will host any matches.

History of the Tamil Nadu Premier League

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association launched the Tamil Nadu Premier League under their erstwhile president, N Srinivasan. The league was inaugurated by the then Indian cricket team captain, M.S. Dhoni, amid much fanfare in the presence of several other sporting icons and celebrities.

The teams were purchased by a bidding process, during which the bidders were allowed to pick the team names of their choice.

Here’s a list of the teams and the prices at which they were bought:

Team (Present names)	Price (in ₹)
Tuti Patriots	5.21 crore
Chepauk Super Gullies	5.13 crore
Lyca Kovai Kings	5.01 crore
Siechem Madurai Panthers	4.00 crore
Ruby Trichy Warriors	3.69 crore
Nellai Royal Kings	3.48 crore
Dindigul Dragons	3.42 crore
IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans	3.30 crore

Source: The Hindu

The first four seasons of the TNPL were held consecutively from 2016 to 2019. The fifth season is yet to be played.

Despite its limited geographical presence, the TNPL has given an opportunity to more than 878 cricket players in 2019 and continues to attract fans and new players alike.

Past Winners

A total of four TNPL seasons have been organised to date. Let’s take a look at the final match details and who emerged victorious.

TNPL 2016

The final of the 2016 season was played between Tuti Patriots and Chepauk Super Gillies at the Chepauk Stadium in Chennai.

Who won the toss: Tuti Patriots
Toss winner elected to: Bat
Target score: 215 runs

Tuti Patriots bowled out Chepauk Super Gillies in 18.5 overs and won the match by a staggering 122 runs.

TNPL 2017

The 2017 season saw the same finalists as the 2016 season facing off against each other again at the Chepauk Stadium.

Who won the toss: Tuti Patriots
Toss winner elected to: Bat
Target score: 143 runs

Chepauk Super Gillies successfully chased the target score and won the match by 6 wickets.

TNPL 2018

The 2018 season saw Dindigul Dragons and Siechem Madura Panthers competing against each other at the Chepauk Stadium.

Who won the toss: Siechem Madurai Panthers
Toss winner elected to: Field
Target score: 117 runs

Siechem Madurai Panthers successfully chased the target score and won the match by 7 wickets.

TNPL 2019

The fourth season saw Chepauk Super Gullies play against the Siechem Madurai Panthers at – you guessed it – the Chepauk Stadium. All TNPL finals are scheduled to be held there.

Who won the toss: Chepauk Super Gillies
Toss winner elected to: Bat
Target score: 126 runs

Chepauk Super Gillies won for the second time by a slim margin of just 12 runs.

Source: Official TNPL website

Key Stats & Facts for the Tamil Nadu Premier League

Here are some interesting facts and statistics about the TNPL that you should know:

1. Highest team score: 215 runs (scored by Tuti Patriots against Chepauk Super Gillies in the 2016 finals)
2. Highest individual score: 118 runs (scored by Aparajith B of erstwhile VB Kanchi Veerans. He now plays for Nellai Royal Kings).
3. Lowest team score: 59 runs (scored by Madurai against Tuti Patriots in 2017).
4. Maximum runs in a season: 9769 runs (2018)
5. Maximum boundaries in a season: 766 fours and 411 sixes (2018)
6. Maximum wickets in a season: 430 wickets (2016)

Tamil Nadu Betting FAQs

Where can I get tips for TNPL betting?

TNPL is a relatively new cricket league in India where you will find a majority of the players to be new talent about whom you have never even heard. In such cases, you can make the best cricket prediction in the world by reading the blogs published on the websites of betting sites and by doing some of your own research.

How is the pitch at the Chepauk Stadium?

The M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, popularly known as the Chepauk Stadium, is reserved for hosting all TNPL final matches. The stadium has a black soil pitch and has historically been spinner-friendly. However, it also gets wickets for pacers.

The pitch is not built for scoring high runs, and you should expect the target score to be anywhere around the mid-100s. But then again, it is the T20 format, and things are often turn out differently to what we predict!

Do betting sites provide live streaming of TNPL matches?

Most live cricket streaming sites also live stream TNPL matches. Also, despite being a local T20 league with limited recognition compared to top cricket leagues like the IPL, you can expect your TNPL betting experience to be as seamless and smooth as IPL betting on the top betting sites mentioned in the article.

CricketBettingAdvice Final Say

The Tamil Nadu Premier League has given space for untapped talent to showcase their cricketing expertise, and has provided another opportunity for bettors to enjoy quality cricket. As the league had to skip one season, you can expect the players to unleash some exciting performances to make the most of the time they get to play in the upcoming season.

As always, we recommend you choose value over everything else while placing bets. And, of course, always remember to bet responsibly!