TNPL 2018: Lyca Kovai Kings meet Superstar Rajinikanth ahead of their season opener

Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) side Lyca Kovai Kings met Superstar Rajinikanth in Chennai ahead of the start of their campaign in the 2018 edition. Kovai captain Abhinav Mukund was thrilled to meet the legendary actor as he posted a photo of him and Rajinikanth on his Instagram handle.

Absolutely privileged to meet the one and only superstar before the start of our tnpl campaign ! Thanks @lycakovaikings for the opportunity. #semmaweightu #superstar https://t.co/t7ox6hCuiP

— Abhinav mukund (@mukundabhinav) July 13, 2018

"Absolutely privileged to meet the one and only superstar before the start of our tnpl campaign ! Kaala na karuppu, karuppu uzhappin vannam..Thanks @lycakovaikings for the opportunity. #semmaweightu #superstar," Mukund shared on Instagram and Twitter.

The Kovai franchise is owned by Lyca, who are also the producers of Rajinikanth's upcoming movie, 2.0, which is the sequel of Endhiran (Robot). The movie also has Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, Amy Jackson among others.

It's official! Superstar Rajinikanth is a part of the #KingsFamily#ThalaivarDharisanam #LycaKovaiKings #NammaOoruNammaGethu #SemmaWeightu #TNPL2018 #TNPL pic.twitter.com/vWfUCLpq2h

— Lyca Kovai Kings (@LycaKovaiKings) July 13, 2018

Kovai Kings will start their 2018 TNPL campaign against Dinesh Karthik's iDream Karaikudi Kaalai at the ICL cricket ground in Tirunelveli on July 15. Fortunately for Kovai, Kaalai will be without their star player Karthik, who is with the Indian team in England and is yet to join his TNPL side.

Kovai won't be having Lance Kluesner this time around as they have roped in the experienced coaching trio of Monty Desai, who has also worked with Gujarat Lions as the assistant coach and Afghanistan national team as their batting coach, JR Madanagopal and Gokulakrishnan as their new support staff. The trio was very instrumental in making Tuti Patriots the most successful TNPL team over the first two seasons. Kovai will be expecting the trio to recreate the magic with their new team as well.

The franchise retained wicketkeeper R Rohith, opener Pradosh Ranjan Paul and spinner S Ajith Ram ahead of the 2018 TNPL draft. In the draft, the team think-tank went for experienced batsman Abhinav Mukund, all-rounder Antony Dhas and pacers T Natarajan and K Vignesh.

Lyca Kovai Kings Squad: Antony Dhas, Natarajan T, Abhinav Mukund, K.Vignesh, Shahrukh Khan M, Akkil Srinaath, Suresh Kumar J, Mithun R, Suresh Babu, Sumant Jain, Rajesh MP, Ashwin Venkataraman, M Raja, R Sathyanarayan, Mohammed Adnan Khan, S Manikandan, Rohith Ravikumar, Pradosh Ranjan Paul and S Ajith Ram.

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