The fifth season of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) has been indefinitely suspended due to lockdown restrictions in Tamil Nadu. On April 28, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) announced that the TNPL Season 5 will start from June 4 with the final slated for July 4. However, amid the ongoing lockdown in the state, CEO Prasanna Kannan has said the tournament has been put on hold until further notice.
The TNPL CEO further said that once the state government eases lockdown, the tournament committee will take a call on rescheduling accordingly. He confirmed the same to InsideSport via a statement.
“There is a lockdown effect in Tamil Nadu now. So, once we have an idea in terms of when it is going to be relaxed, only then we can take a call. Since we do not have clarity on when the restrictions will be eased, we have postponed the tournament. We were supposed to start the tournament on June 4,” he told InsideSport.
TNPL gather BCCI’s clearance back in April. With government clearances the fifth season was about to start TNCA released the schedule on April 28 and promised to conduct the matches in strict bio-bubbles.
The first match between Dindigul Dragons and Tirupur Tamizhans was scheduled to begin on June 4 in Tirunelveli. However, considering Chennai’s COVID-19 spike, no matches were scheduled at the MA Chidambaram Stadium at that time. The final was set to be held in Salem on July 4.
Also Read: BCCI CEO Hemang Amin Wants Remainder Of IPL 2021 In UAE, Franchises Agree
TNPL 2021 Suspended Until Further Notice
“TNCA will follow strict Standard operating measures of bio bubble with frequent testing and quarantine rules as is being done for BCCI Domestic matches, International matches and with IPL,” the TNCA said in a statement.
The fifth season was initially was slated to be played in 2020 but was postponed due to the COVID spike in the state. Meanwhile, the situation has even worsened in the state with 30,000 daily cases, the highest among all Indian states at present. It is currently undergoing lockdown till May 24.
“We are monitoring the situation. We will have a discussion with the government and then once we have a decision, we will announce the revised schedule,” Prasanna Kannan told InsideSport.
Also Read: Aakash Chopra Opens Up On Michael Vaughan’s Suggestion To Complete IPL 2021
