TNCA plans to resume league in October, no coronavirus tests for players

TNCA has officially sent a letter to all the players intimating them the proposed start to complete the 2019-2020 season.
Image of cricket stumps used for representational purpose
Image of cricket stumps used for representational purpose

CHENNAI: After a gap of seven months, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) is set to resume its league matches in October subject to government approval. If held, it will be the first association to conduct competitive games in Tamil Nadu since the lockdown.

TNCA has officially sent a letter to all the players intimating them the proposed start to complete the 2019-2020 season. With regards to health protocols, the players won't be undertaking Covid-19 tests before the start of the league since the association feels it might not be feasible to test so many players across divisions.

However, they will follow the standard operating procedures issued by the state government. In the first division, all the league fixtures are completed with only semifinals and final need to be conducted. However, for the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth division, around 80 matches including league games have to be held. TNCA has already begun its preparations this month to get the grounds match-ready.

As far as outstation players are concerned, it is not clear whether they will be competing in the remaining first division matches. With only three matches left in this season, it looks unlikely that the teams who have qualified for the semifinals — Jolly Rovers, Vijay CC, Young Stars, Globe Trotters — will field them. There are also indications that the 2021-2022 season might be truncated due to the pandemic.

The association is awaiting the domestic calendar from the Board of Cricket Control of India (BCCI) to plan the season ahead. "We began the work last week to get the grounds in Chennai ready," TNCA secretary RS Ramasaamy told Express. "We are hoping to complete the league matches in October if we get a clearance from the state government. We have not yet decided when to start the next season. But we might have a truncated calendar for 2021-2022 season since we have lost a few months because of the pandemic," he added.

TNPL in November? It is understood that TNCA is also mulling conducting its flagship T20 tournament after the completion of Indian Premier League in November. The association postponed the fifth edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) in May because of the pandemic-enforced lockdown.

TNCA had earlier said that they are looking at two windows — November this year or March next year — to hold the TNPL. Though the plan is not concrete yet — with logistics being the main challenge — the association is keeping its option open.

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The New Indian Express
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