Six Tamil Nadu stars named for pink-ball Duleep Trophy; blow for TNPL

The good news is six Tamil Nadu players have made it to the Duleep Trophy squads, but the bad news is they won't be available for the major part of the inaugural Tamil Nadu Premier League as the dates of these two tournaments are clashing. Duleep Trophy is scheduled to take place from August 23 to September 14 while the TNPL will begin on August 24 and the final is on September 18.

BCCI is serious about Duleep Trophy and has decided to experiment with the pink ball, the tour namet being played under floodlights. Even though the top Indian players like Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane and R Ashwin won't play following their return from West Indies and a short tour of the US, most of the others who would not be touring Australia with the India 'A' side during that time, have been called up.

The Tamil Nadu stars, contracted to play TNPL, to have got a call are Abhinav Mukund, Dinesh Karthik (both Thoothukudi), M Vijay (Coimbatore), KB Arun Karthick (Madurai), M Ashwin (Dindigul), and B Aparajith (Thiruvallur). All of them are top picks of their respective franchises and will only be available from the semifinals (Sept 16 & 17) stage.

R Ashwin may be available for TNPL:R Ashwin, India's No. 1 offie, was only the seventh pick of the TNPL, because the franchises were not sure whether he would be available. But now Dindigul, who took the risk of buying him, might turn lucky, as Ashwin will be available to play the tournament following his return from the US, where India will play two T20s against West Indies.