Ravichandran Ashwin retained by TNPL side Dindigul Dragons, Tuti Patriots eye players draft

Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is returning for the third edition of the tournaments. The tournament has made likes of Washington Sundar, T Natrajan and Murugan Ashwin a known name in the Indian households. A number of players managed to bag an IPL contract following their noticeable performance in the TNPL.

The third edition of the tournament is set to start in the month of July. On Thursday, as the deadline for the announcement for retained players was ending, Dindigul Dragons announced that it will retain ace spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and N Jagadeesan for the 2018 edition of the tournament. Last year’s runners-up made no retention and would look to get some bigger names when the players draft takes place later in the month.

Players draw inspiration from Ashwin: Dragons’ source

As per the report in Indian Express, a source close the Dragons’ side said that “We have retained Ashwin and are proud to have him in our side. He is a class player and the boys in our team draw a lot of inspiration from him.”

Notably, the way things stand, Ashwin will be missing the season as he will be preparing for the long UK tour where India play 5 Tests along with limited over series. Ashwin had missed the last edition of the tournament as well. However, in 2016, Ashwin had a successful tournament.

International players retention will impact plans during the player draft: Patriots owner

Last edition’s runners-up Tuti Patriots didn’t show interest in retaining the likes of Dinesh Karthik, Abhinav Mukund and Washington Sundar. The move from the franchise was surprising as the players will be available to play for the major part of the league.

Team owner Selvakumar suggested that keeping the upcoming players draft in mind, they did not retain the international players. “We have not retained any international player. If we retain one, it will dent our bids in the draft. So we have retained promising players like Akash Sumra, Anand Subramaniam and Ganesh Moorthi,” said Selvakumar.

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