The second edition of Tamil Nadu Premier League kickstarts in Chennai on Sunday, July 22 as defending champions Tuti Patriots and Dindigul Dragons go head-to-head at the MA Chidambaram Stadium.
After the phenomenal success of the inaugural edition, the intra-state Twenty20 tournament in Tamil Nadu is set to attract more attention.
And the opener between the holders and last year's second-placed team is expected to be a cracker despite the absence of big names from both the sides.
Notably, Patriots avenged their early-season defeat to Dragons with a win in the semi-final of the last year's edition.
Teams will be without R Ashwin, Dinesh Karthik
Patriots, the defending champions, will be without their skipper Karthik, who recently returned from India's tour to West Indies. India opener Abhinav Mukund, who is currently with Virat Kohli's side in Sri Lanka, will also not be available.
Young guns get big opportunity
However, the team has enough firepower in the likes of Indian Premier League star Washington Sundar and Kaushik Gandhi among others.
Sundar will be high on confidence, especially after an impressive IPL 2017 campaign with the runners-up Rising Pune Supergiant.
On the other hand, Gandhi has been a consistent performer both in TNPL and for Tamil Nadu state team.
While the 27-year-old finished as the second-highest run-scorer in last year's edition, he smashed 297 runs at 37.12 for the state team during their victorious Vijay Hazare Trophy campaign.
They have a strong bowling line-up as well with in-form Ashwin Christ and veteran Lakshmipathy Balaji leading the attack.
.@BrettLee_58 IS IN TOWN!! Be there in #TNPLFanPark at Coimbatore from 5pm today to meet and interact with our Binga #DoubleTheGethu #TNPL2 pic.twitter.com/gk7xY8O7d9
— TNPL (@TNPremierLeague) July 22, 2017
Watch out for Narayan Jagadeesan
On the other hand, Ashwin-led Dindigul Dragons will be without their skipper, who is currently in Sri Lanka.
In his absence, IPL stars T Natarajan and Murugan Ashwin will have to step up and lead from the front.
Last season's top-scorer (397 runs at 56.71) Jagadeesan will also be looking to continue his rich form in the tournament.
Having missed out on a Royal Challengers Bangalore contract despite attending the trials this season, the 21-year-old will be geared up to make a bigger impact this season.
When is the match and where to watch it live
The season opener between Tuti Patriots and Dindigul Dragons is schedule for 7:15pm IST.
TV coverage and live streaming
India: TV Channel: Star Sports 1, Star Sports 2, Star Sports Tamil | Live Streaming: Hotstar
