2018 TNPL: Hemang Badani picks his hits and misses
The 2018 Tamil Nadu Premier League is set to come to an end later tonight as Dindigul Dragons take on Siechem Madurai Panthers at the MA Chidambaram stadium in Chennai in the final of the tournament's third edition.
Over the last one month, a lot of players showcased their skills and impressed everyone with their performances. The likes of CV Varun, S Aniruddha, N Jagadeesan, Kaushik Gandhi, Athisayaraj Davidson etc. had a great tournament but the same cannot be said of the likes of M Ganesh Moorthi, Akash Sumra, KH Gopinath etc.
Chepauk Super Gillies coach Hemang Badani, in an exclusive chat with Sportskeeda, picked the players who did well and the players who failed to make an impression in the 2018 TNPL. Let us take a look at four hits and five misses he picked from the whole of players who took part in the TNPL.
Hit: Shahrukh Khan
M Shahrukh Khan has been a consistent performer in the Tamil Nadu division league but has failed to replicate his success in the TNPL for the first two editions where he played for Ruby Kanchi Warriors/Ruby Trichy Warriors. One can say that the all-rounder wasn't used properly by the Warriors as he didn't have a proper batting position and often came out to bat down the order.
But, ever since moving to Lyca Kovai Kings, he was given his place at the top of the order and he made sure that he made it count. He ended the tournament as Kings' leading run scorer with 325 runs in nine games at an average of 36.11 and a strike-rate of 141.30. Kovai's performance with the bat depended on how Shahrukh fared with the willow and whenever he failed, they struggled to get going.
Miss: MS Sanjay
MS Sanjay was one of Dindigul Dragons' better player in the first two seasons but has failed to keep up his good work with his new team, Ruby Trichy Warriors. The slow left-arm spinner played all the seven matches for Trichy this season and has managed to pick just four wickets at an average of 40 and an economy of over nine.
Skipper B Indrajith would have expected a lot from Sanjay but Sanjay's failure meant that Trichy failed to qualify for the playoffs after losing out on NRR.