CHENNAI: India player Suresh Raina, who was a regular member of the Chennai Super Kings and captain of Gujarat Lions in the recently concluded IPL, will be turning out for Grand Slam in the TNCA senior division league coming season. This automatically makes him eligible to play in the second edition of Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) which will begin next month.
Along with Raina, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwari, Unmukt Chand, Sanju Samson, Mannan Vora, Smith Patel, Hamuma Vihari, Ashoke Dinda, Sandeep Sharma, Y Chahal, and Piyush Chawla are among the 80 odd players who registered for TNPL as the deadline ended here on Thursday.
“Suresh Raina signed up for TNPL today. We are happy with the pool of players who have registered. We look forward to an exciting tournament which will begin on July 22,” said Prasanna Kannan, CEO of TNPL. Raina’s Chennai connect made him sign for TNPL.
As per the rule, a team can have three outstation players and two can play in the eleven.
“Raina was a regular member of CSK and has developed a special bond with the city. He has opted to play for Grand Slam in the TNCA senior division league. Raina and Yusuf Pathan will be the players in demand at the auction.
“The outstation players auction will be held next weekend,” said a source close to the developments in TNCA.
“As per the rule, four outstation players can register in the TNCA league for a club and two can play in the eleven. So if 48 players register with TNCA first division league, the rest can play in the lower division. Last year Hardik Pandya played in the second division,” added the source.
ashok.v@newindianexpress.com