Rising TNPL Stars on the IPL Radar

T Natarajan, Washington Sundar, Varun Chakravarthy, B Sai Sudharsan, R Sai Kishore, and M Siddharth are examples of players breaking into the IPL following successful seasons in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). The 2024 TNPL season saw the emergence of a few players who have the skills to potentially join their seniors in the IPL. Here are five such players who could be on the IPL 2025 radar.

Jhathavedh Subramanyan (Lyca Kovai Kings)

Role: Legspinner who operates in the middle overs, can also bowl left-arm fingerspin
Past IPL experience: Squad member at Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2024

Jhathavedh Subramanyan is an old-school legspinner who can turn his stock ball sharply. He proved difficult to get away across venues in Salem, Coimbatore, Dindigul, and Chennai. At grounds with small boundaries, he smartly hid the ball away from the swinging arcs of batters with wide legbreaks and often challenged them to hit against the wind. In the final against R Ashwin’s Dindigul Dragons at Chepauk, he used the bigger square boundaries to his advantage, making Ashwin and B Indrajith work hard for runs. The 24-year-old can also bowl left-arm fingerspin, though he hasn’t used those skills in the last two TNPL seasons. His economy rate of 6.09 in nine games was the best among bowlers who bowled at least 25 overs in TNPL 2024.

After a breakout TNPL season with Lyca Kovai Kings in 2023, Jhathavedh earned his maiden IPL deal with Sunrisers Hyderabad. However, an injury relegated him to the sidelines, and he didn’t get a single match at SRH. Perhaps, he has done enough to stay on the IPL radar.

P Vignesh (Dindigul Dragons)

Role: Left-arm fingerspinner who bowls in the powerplay and middle overs
Past IPL experience: None

In a spin attack that includes Ashwin and Varun Chakravarthy, it can be difficult for a rookie spinner to make a mark, but 19-year-old P Vignesh managed to do just that, emerging as Dindigul’s most economical spinner. His economy rate of 6.19 was second only to Jhathavedh among all bowlers who bowled at least 25 overs in this TNPL season. In the final at Chepauk, he claimed the big scalps of Sai Sudharsan and Shahrukh Khan, helping Dindigul restrict Kovai to 129 for 7 on a rainy evening with a wet ball.

Earlier this year, Vignesh missed the cut for India’s Under-19 World Cup squad, but he seized his opportunity in the TNPL. He showed that he can keep it tight against left-handers by varying his pace and generating overspin.

Mohamed Ali (Idream Tiruppur Tamizhans)

Role: Offspin-bowling allrounder
Past IPL experience: None

Like Vignesh, Mohamed Ali missed the cut for India’s Under-19 World Cup squad but has made an impression in the Ranji Trophy and more recently in TNPL 2024. Stepping in for Washington Sundar, Ali brought Washington-esque traits to Tamil Nadu’s Ranji side: a high-arm action coupled with the ability to extract turn and extra bounce, and batting depth. These defensive bowling skills were on display in the TNPL, where he became Tiruppur’s main allrounder after Vijay Shankar was sidelined with an injury.

Against Shahrukh’s Kovai, arguably the best TNPL side over the past three years, Ali clattered an unbeaten 45 off 23 balls, with four fours and three sixes, from No.4 in Qualifier 1 in Dindigul. Ali scored 173 runs in eight innings at a strike rate of 141.80 and took nine wickets in nine innings at an economy rate of 7.83.

Sonu Yadav (Nellai Royal Kings)

Role: Seam-bowling allrounder
Past IPL experience: Squad member at Royal Challengers Bengaluru in 2023

Born in Gorakhpur (UP) and bred in Tamil Nadu, 24-year-old Sonu Yadav has shown the ability to bowl across phases and hit boundaries lower down the order in the TNPL. His variations, including yorkers and slower cutters, helped him take five wickets against Salem Spartans in Salem and the key wicket of Shivam Singh, the Dindigul Dragons batter who played for Punjab Kings in IPL 2024, in Dindigul. With the bat, Sonu faced 72 balls and sent 15 of those to the boundary, finishing the tournament with a strike rate of 163.88. Earlier this year, he gained greater exposure in the UK as part of the Tamil Nadu Colts team that played against some English clubs.

Shivam Singh (Dindigul Dragons)

Role: Top-order batter
Past IPL experience: Played a solitary match for Punjab Kings in 2024

Talent scouts are often skeptical about selecting batters from the TNPL due to the short boundaries at some of the venues, but Shivam Singh might be an exception. An opening batter who can regularly hit the ball over the top, especially over the off side, and play scoops behind the wicket, Shivam finished as the top run-getter in TNPL 2024, with 364 runs in nine innings, including an unbeaten 106, at an average of 45.50 and strike rate of 134.81. At the post-match presentation after winning the title, Ashwin name-checked Shivam as one of the players who had “switched” their game to the next level this season.(online casino games)