CHENNAI: The fifth edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League, which was scheduled to start on June 10, was on Monday postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association has decided to postpone the 5th edition of TNPL tournament which was to start from June 10,” TNCA honorary secretary RS Ramasaamy stated in a release.
The revised schedule is expected be released in due course. The forthcoming edition of TNPL was set to be an eight-team affair with the final scheduled for July 12.
The spread of COVID-19 spread and the lockdown in place to control the pandemic has caused havoc with sporting events across the globe, leading to cancellation or postponement of numerous events, including the Olympics and the Indian Premier League.
Ramasaamy told Sportstar: “We have two other windows before September. One of the options is to start TNPL on July 15 and end it by the middle of August. Or we could begin on August 1 and finish it in about 20 days so that there is a gap between TNPL and the IPL.”
Importantly, Ramasaamy added that the TNCA would have talks with all the stake-holders including the franchise owners, the broadcasters, the local organisers and the other relevant authorities in a couple of days.
There will be no TNPL games in Chennai this season. In fact, the TNCA has added Salem and Coimbatore as the two new venues for this season’s edition of the league, Sportstar further reports.
Ramasaamy told the publication that host broadcaster Star India would not have any problems with the dates as long as there is a reasonable gap between the TNPL and IPL.
“People are cricket starved. Lots of viewers would watch TNPL. The TRP will be high.”
Despite the setback of having to postpone TNPL, the TNCA is upbeat about staging the competition before September.
