PS Raman, Chairman, Governing Council, India Cements Ltd TNPL, spoke exclusively to the official website on the tournament on Friday. Excerpts:
The second edition of the India Cements Ltd TNPL is about to end on a high. What are your thoughts and who would you like to thank?
As we have come to a conclusion of the second edition of the TNPL, sponsored by India Cements, on the behalf of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, I would like to thank all of you who have made the tournament so successful. In particular I would like to place on record my thanks to the eight franchise owners who have supported us. I thank their teams for playing such excellent cricket. We have to thank especially the crowd, that have come in such strong numbers at both the grounds, Natham and Tirunelveli, and as well in Chepauk. In reference to that, I would like to thank the management of the NPR College for making available such a scenic ground at Natham for us and also the Indian Cements for providing the lovely ground at Sankarnagar. Well, 24 out of the 32 games were played at these two venues and all of those were full houses. Above all, I would like to thank our broadcast partner, Star Sports, who have promoted the event in an admirable way; where I went, I just got positive feedback saying the broadcast quality has been outstanding. I thank you all for the support and I look forward to a great TNPL next year as well.
The TNCA has conducted two editions in the space of 12 months!
Yes, certainly. When we started this season, I had mentioned that we are going to have a bigger and better TNPL this season and I believe that’s exactly that has happened. You have all been witnessing it.
What is satisfying for you as chairman of governing council and how happy are you with the conduct of the league?
The main trust of the TNPL has been its desire to penetrate into the districts and make cricket available through the length and breadth of our state and beyond.We have 32 matches so far and what is possibly the most satisfying thing for me is that 24 of the games played in Tirunelveli and Natham were sold out.
How is the TNPL as an example for other associations?
See, TNCA has always been a very professionally run body and that certainly has helped us in conducting the T20 tournament but it has to do a lot with the fact that we have a very strong broadcaster with us and that made the whole difference here.
How happy are you with the response from the fans on TV and social media this season?
The TNPL, as a product and as a sports tournament, has picked up tremendously over the last one year and today’s crowd response is testimony to how they have been receiving the tournament all along.
What’s your message to the fans?
TNPL is ‘namma’ tournament. I want all the team owners as well as the spectators to keep supporting the TNPL to make it bigger and bigger and better as the years go by.
