CHENNAI: Ravichandran Ashwin and Narayan Jagadeesan were retained by Dindigul Dragons, as the deadline for player retention for the third edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League ended on Wednesday. Last year’s beaten finalists Tuti Patriots have not retained any big name and are sure to go for some at the player draft later this month.
“We have retained Ashwin and are proud to have him in our side. He is a class player and the boys in our team draw a lot of inspiration from him,” a source close to the Dragons management said, adding that retaining wicketkeeper-batsman Jagadeesan also makes sense. “He is an attacking batsman with a safe pair of hands behind the stumps. Wicketkeeping is vital in this format. Jagadeesan will be of immense value for us,” added the source.
It was learnt that the third player retained by the Dragons was batsman Vivek Raj. He plays for Swaraj FC, one of the TNCA league teams supported by TAKE Solutions, which owns the Dindigul franchise. Teams can retain one international, state player and uncapped player each. If they don’t have an international, two state players can be retained.
Selvakumar, the new owner of Tuti Patriots, explained to Express why his team has not retained star players. Dinesh Karthik, Abhinav Mukund and Washington Sundar played for them last season. “We have not retained any international player. If we retain one, it will dent our bids in the draft. So we have retained promising players like Akash Sumra, Anand Subramaniam and Ganesh Moorthi. Former Tamil Nadu captain R Prasanna will be our new coach,’’ revealed Selvakumar. “It’s a big challenge for me. Tuti won the first edition and reached the final in the second. So expectations will be high. I hope to live up to them. My stint with the Kovai side as assistant coach will come in handy. There is no pressure from the owners. Eagerly waiting for the player draft,’’ said Prasanna.
Madurai Super Giants, now owned by Siechem Industries, are putting in place a new support staff. Lyca Kovai Kings too are in talks to appoint a new coaching staff and support team. It has also been heard that one more team may get a new or additional stakeholder. A source in the TNPL management said the player draft will most likely be held in the third week of this month. The tournament is expected to start in the second week of July. Dates will be released shortly.
ashok.v@newindianexpress.com