Crowds. Rainbow-hued Afro wigs. Face-paint. Floodlights. Cricket. Brad Hogg. Homecoming. For many, this random assortment of words may seem like a poor verbal spoof of the activation command made famous by the Marvel character Winter Soldier. Actually, these are some of the sights and sounds likely to wash over you at the NPR College cricket ground in Natham, where the third edition of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is in full flow. Three days in, and the venue has already been witness to three full-house clashes; 12,000-odd bums on seats or so.
If these descriptions and numbers aren’t enough to convince you about how palpable the atmosphere at this ground can get on matchdays, then sample the former Australia chinaman’s experience in a nutshell. “It’s been sensational. I’ve really enjoyed my time here in Tamil Nadu. Going out to the districts and seeing these guys in action has been something special,” said the spinner turned commentator.
*******
Within the domestic scaffoldings of cricket, many IPL-like domestic microcosms have taken shape over the past decade or so. That list spans obscure ones like Rajwada Premier League and Odisha Premier League, to the now-established ones like TNPL and Karnataka Premier League (KPL). This March also saw Mumbai Cricket Association test these waters with the inaugural Mumbai T20 League.
What makes TNPL and KPL stand out from their domestic counterparts can be boiled down to the “more investment, more eyeballs, hence even more investment for even more eyeballs” loop. After the statistically-endearing footfall of its first edition, organisers loosened their purse strings to mount TNPL on a larger scale.
After the refurbishment of the outfield and all spectator-related infrastructure in Natham for the second season, money spent on the ground since inception (2013) went up to Rs 1.75 crore. The other TNPL district venue — ICL ground in Sankar Nagar, Tirunelveli — too was witness to a revamp. Big names (R Ashwin, Washington Sundar, Murali Vijay and Dinesh Karthik), prime-time broadcast slots, and aggressive ‘Above The Line and Below The Line’ promotion saw TNPL crowned as the most-viewed domestic league last year in India.
“In the first edition, Ashwin’s matches attracted big crowds. In the next, every Dindigul Dragons match saw capacity turnouts. This year, all games so far have been packed,” remarks Dindigul District Cricket Association secretary N Venkataraman. There has also been a change in crowd demographics. “The audience has mostly been youngsters, but even parents and women have started coming in. That’s a shift. The schools were initially reluctant. They too have started allowing children to participate in age-level tournaments.”
With all this in consideration, it wouldn’t be wrong to conjecture that the growth of TNPL may have been a catalyst in Natham bagging the rights to host this year’s Duleep Trophy. That, and perhaps the Rs 40 lakh or so used this season for installing a new water-drainage system and sprucing up the infrastructure at this venue.
Even KPL has trod a similar narrative. Big spend and sponsors (Karbonn Smartphones), venue facelifts (in Hubballi and Mysuru), and social-media penetration gave this league the second spot in the same year; 3.15 million Twitter impressions, and a viewership jump from 26 million in 2016 to 59 million in 2017 are adequate statisical evidence.
“Viewers in districts are the biggest benefactors, because they no longer have to travel to Bengaluru to catch quality cricketing action,” explains Karnataka State Cricket Association secretary Sudhakar Rao. “Hence, a game in Mysuru or Hubballi will draw a bigger crowd than one in Bengaluru, which is what is happening. We are also considering Shivamogga as a new venue for next year.”
******
It isn’t wrong to perceive of such leagues as “spectacles meant for entertainment” — a label that is tacked on to pretty much any T20 event — but their ambit extends beyond just serving as an escape from the mundanities of life. The stories of the 22 men who make this spectacle happen is also shaped by how well the leagues they feature in permeates the collective cricket conscience of its state, or even the country. If IPL was the cannon which launched Jasprit Bumrah and Hardik Pandya to stardom, then TNPL and KPL can boast of their Thangarasu Natarajans, Narayan Jagadeesans, Krishnappa Gowthams, and M Prasidh Krishnas.
Natarajan’s tale is perhaps the embodiment of TNPL’s ability to spark a turn of fortunes. “My break came when I was in a really bad place,” recollects the 27-year-old left-arm speedster. That bad place was his blacklisting by BCCI for chucking in January 2015. Two years later, he had become the second-most expensive domestic pick in IPL, taking home a cheque of Rs 3 crore from Kings XI Punjab. That, and being back in Tamil Nadu’s Ranji Trophy fold.
“I know its been a while since all that happened, but that TNPL season still feels like the biggest moment of my life, when I look back at it. It really changed things for me. And it’s not just for me. There are many who’ve featured in the domestic circuit after a good run here. Apart from the money, most of these guys are also called up for trials by IPL franchises. One day, they too might end up getting their break.”Life has indeed changed from Chinnappampatti — a small village in Salem — to the Thangam Grand — a three-star hotel in Madurai — from where Natarajan speaks these words.
*******
This story, though, can’t be without its central character: the average fan. Weather (Dindigul hits late-30s during afternoon), distance (NPR College is 30km from Dindigul), and availability of tickets (counters in the city tend to run out of them an hour after opening) be damned, they will still be at the stadium, waiting for their heroes in the flesh. “All these things are annoying, and so is the security at the venue. But that’s okay. I and my friends always want to catch the matches, especially when Ashwin is playing,” says 23-year-old Gunaseelan, who works as a hotel attender. As he makes this observation, this season’s KPL auction is in progress. Perhaps another Gunaseelan in Mysuru or Hubballi is counting down the days to August 15.