Veteran Indian offspinner, Ravichandran Ashwin will be leading the Dindigul Dragons for the upcoming edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). It is worth noting that the franchise has another captain in their scheme of things as well. This is because Ashwin is not expected to play the entire season of the tournament.
TNPL 2018 is expected to get started from July 11 and the tournament will clash with the dates of India’s tour of England. Ashwin is very much in the frame to be named in the Indian squad for the tour. India’s limited-overs assignment on the England tour ends on July 17. After the conclusion of the first leg, the Test team will start their preparations and Ashwin will head England leaving the TNPL action midway.
In Ashwin’s absence, N Jagadeesan will be leading the Dindigul Dragons. Jagadeesan is one of the most popular players of the TNPL. The pacer has played 9 First Class games, 10 List A matches, and 13 T20s in his short career thus far. This year, he was a part of the CSK squad in the IPL 2018.
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Commenting further on the appointment of Ashwin as the captain, it is indeed a bold move by the Dragons. The franchise had the option of leaving Ashwin out of the drafts knowing that he will not be available for the entire duration of the tournament. Interestingly, even last season the spinner could not play a single game for the Dragons due to the international assignments.
Meanwhile, other Indian players have also been picked in the drafts. Veteran gloveman Dinesh Karthik has been picked up by Karaikudi Kaalai at the auctions. Young all-rounder Washington Sundar has been roped in by the Tuti Patriots. Both Karthik and Sundar are a part of the Indian squad that will play the limited-overs series in England.
Both these gentlemen will miss the first week of the tournament. While Sundar is expected to play in the second week of TNPL, the participation of Karthik is still under doubt. There are chances that Karthik could be called in as the keeper in the Test squad ahead of Parthiv Patel and Wriddhiman Saha considering his recent form.
