Tamil Nadu League: Auction in state-level league for the first time

The country's T20 cricket league culture reached a new high on Thursday as a two-day auction to select players for Tamil Nadu state's local Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) began on Thursday. Organized on the lines of the IPL auction, the auction is being held at the Plush Hotel in Mahabalipuram. Chennai's top-order batsman Sai Sudarshan was the costliest in the first day's auction. 21-year-old Sudarshan was bought by Lyca Kovai Kings for a record amount of Rs 21.6 lakhs.
A total of 8 teams of the league are participating in the auction, whose maximum purse amount is Rs 70 lakhs. 972 players had registered for the auction. For the first time in the Tamil Nadu Premier League, the auction process is being adopted for the selection of players. In the previous six seasons, players were included in the teams through the draft. The 7th season of the league is likely to be held in the coming June-July. Renowned anchor Charu Sharma moderated the auction.
Players have been divided into 4 categories for the auction. Category A includes players who have played international matches, Category B includes players who have played in senior BCCI domestic tournaments, Category C includes players who have played more than 30 matches in TNPL and Category D includes other players. The base price of international players is Rs 10 lakh. A minimum base price of Rs 1.50 lakh has been kept.