Bigger and better, with Muttiah Muralitharan as mentor for VB Thiruvallur Veerans, TNPL poised for a leap

On Saturday, Veerans had the privilege of welcoming the Sri Lankan legend as its brand ambassador for the season and VB did not make any pretension when he appreciated the former off-spinner. 

The common refrain at the function where the TNPL officials and the former cricketers spoke was that the league was getting bigger and better.

VB had a double whammy when former TN medium-pacer Bharat Arun agreed to coach his team this season. “When VB offered the job, I was more than happy to say yes and I was delighted to see Murali as the mentor of the team,” said Arun, who is tipped to be the Indian bowling coach this year. “I am eagerly looking forward to working with the boys (Thiruvallur),” he added. Muralitharan recounted his partnership with Tamil Nadu. “My grandparents are from Namakkal and we have some business there. I am extremely happy to be associated with TNPL, though I am going to be only a mentor for VB,” the legendary off-spinner clarified.

He said he has been visiting VB’s Academy in the last two years during off season when his 11-yearold son Naren attended training sessions. “Then I thought, I would work with VB. In fact, it was VB who gave my first IPL entry when he was the selector of Chennai Super Kings,” he explained. 

Muralitharan, however, ruled out working with Chennai Super Kings when it returns to the IPL fold next year. “My contract with Sunrisers is for two more years, so anything new will be after that,” he said.

The former Sri Lankan spinner said he was not in touch with the administration in his country ever since he retired seven years ago. “Lankan cricket is going through a bad patch. Obviously, India is the favourite,” he remarked about the upcoming India-Sri Lanka series. 

Murali noted R Ashwin is a smart cricketer, who will perform well in any condition. “He has been developing ever since MS Dhoni took him under his wings and guided him along,” said Murali, who added it won’t be easy for Chennai Super Kings to rebuild the team after a gap in IPL. “It built the team from scratch and formed a core team. Now the team is scattered and it will be a difficult task,” he said.

Chairman of TNPL governing council PS Raman said the outstation players issue would not dampen the league. “The league was launched to promote local talent. And there were three or four players from it who graduated to IPL last year. This year it would be more,” he remarked.