Chennai, June 10: In an attempt to provide a platform to domestic cricketers to showcase their talents, former ICC chairperson and Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) president N Srinivasan on Thursday (June 9) announced launch of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL).

'Chennai Super Kings will certainly return in IPL 2018'

Eight teams will feature in the inaugural edition of the state's Premier League aims at take cricket to the nook and corner of Tamil Nadu, which at present is confined to urban areas of Chennai.

The franchisee based tournament planned in T20 format will see 8 teams fighting for the inaugural title. Several international players may participate in the domestic league to make it more exciting.

"This is important for Tamil Nadu, this is important for domestic Tamil Nadu. Tamil Nadu players can showcase their talent so that the IPL teams or any other team can look at them and take interest and give them a future. The other (aspect) is, this will help develop cricket in the districts of Tamil Nadu," Srinivasan was quoted as saying.

The TNCA received a total franchise fee of Rs. 33.34 crores through bidding process.

Here is all you need to know about the proposed T20 league:

Schedule:

Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) will begin immediately after India's tour of West Indies ends on August 22, the tournament will be played for 3 weeks.

No. of franchises/teams:

There will be 8 teams participating against each other in the inaugural season.

Prize Money:

The winners of TNPL will take home a prize money of Rs 1 crore while the runners-up will get Rs 60 lakh.

Selection of players:

The process of allocation of players for all the franchises will be done through a draft system instead of an auction.

Tournament format:

• The eight teams will be split into 2 groups. Every team will play 6 matches each.

• Total of 27 matches will be played in the T20 tournament. 12 matches will be played at MAC (Chennai) and 12 at Natham. Remaining 3 games will be played at Tirunelveli.

• 6 matches will be played under the flood lights in MAC and Natham.

• 3 matches will be knockout, all of them will be played under flood lights.

Media coverage:

All 27 matches will be televised, broadcast across TV, radio, internet and mobile platforms.

The media rights have already been decided in favour of STAR India.

List of franchisees/bidding amount/city:

1. Thoothukudi Sports & Entertainment PVT LTD - 5.21 crore.

2. Metronation Chennai Television Pvt LTD - 5.13 crore.

3. Lyca productions Pvt LTD - 5.01 crore (Coimbatore)

4. Kothari(Madras) INT LTD - 4.001 crore (Madurai)

5. Ruby Builders & Promoters - 3.69 crore (Kancheepuram)

6. VB Cricket Academy - 3.48 crore (Thiruvallur)

7. Take Solutions LTD - 3.42 crore (Dindugal)

8. Chettinad Apparels PVT LTD - 3.3 crore (Karaikudi)

Twitter handle:

The official Twitter handle of TNPL is : @TNCACricket

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