LKK vs SS Dream11 Prediction: 3 players you can pick as captain or vice-captain for today's TNPL 2021 match - July 19th, 2021

The 2021 edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) commences today as the Lyca Kovai Kings and the Salem Spartans lock horns at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.

The previous edition of the TNPL was in 2019, with last year's tournament postponed multiple times and then finally canceled as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. During that season, both the Kovai Kings and the Spartans failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing fifth and sixth respectively.

However, a new season will bring new beginnings for both teams, even as star players like Washington Sundar and T Natarajan miss out on the clash. It might be wise to pick reliable players in your Dream11 team for the opening game, since most players begin as relative unknowns.

Lyca Kovai Kings squad: P Shijit Chandran, J Suresh Kumar, J Gowjith Subash, K Vignesh, GR Manish, R Kavin, G Aravindh, V Ganga Sridhar Raju, U Mukilesh, Abhishek Tanwar, MA Atheeq Ur Rahman, N Selva Kumaran, Ashwin Venkataraman, B Sai Sudharsan, Nishanth Kumar Alwar, Shahrukh Khan, Srinivasan E, Thangarasu Natarajan, Kiran Kashyap, Yudheeswaran V, Anandakumar S and S Ajith Ram

Salem Spartans squad: B Praanesh, S Abishiek, Akshay V Srinivasan, Murugan Ashwin, S Boopalan, Daryl S Ferrario, M Ganesh Moorthi, Gopinath KH, TD Lokesh Raj, G Periyasamy, S Shubham Mehta, U Sushil, M Vijay Kumar, Vijay Shankar, Kishoor G, Aarif A, Suganesh M, Abhinav Vishnu, Rathnam AVR, R Karthikeyan and Washington Sundar

Here are three players who could be the captain or vice-captain of your Dream11 team for the TNPL 2021 season opener between the Lyca Kovai Kings and the Salem Spartans.

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#3 Murugan Ashwin (Spartans)

4-0-16-3! ☄️Murugan Ashwin delivers a #Pongal special against Odisha 💥#SyedMushtaqAliTrophy #SaddaPunjab pic.twitter.com/VgON4t9uxL

— Punjab Kings (@PunjabKingsIPL) January 14, 2021

Not much is known about the wicket at Chepauk. While it was fairly decent to bat on in the first few matches of the 2021 Indian Premier League, it quickly slowed down as teams like the Mumbai Indians struggled to counter opposition spinners.

Murugan Ashwin could make the most of the venue during TNPL 2021. The leg-spinner had a forgettable first half of the Indian Premier League with the Punjab Kings, but is a constant threat in the TNPL and scalped eight wickets in the 2019 season.

Ashwin is a good choice to be the captain or vice-captain of your Dream11 team for the TNPL 2021 season opener between the Lyca Kovai Kings and the Salem Spartans.

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#2 Shahrukh Khan (Kovai Kings)

SHEER POWER!!!@shahrukh_35#TNPL2021 #SemmaWeightu #lycakovaikings pic.twitter.com/LCyUs5PpAd

— Lyca Kovai Kings (@LycaKovaiKings) July 17, 2021

Announced as the captain of the Kovai Kings for TNPL 2021, Shahrukh Khan will have a lot of responsibility on his broad shoulders this season. Fresh off a promising debut Indian Premier League season with the Punjab Kings, the big-hitting all-rounder will look to build on the 194 runs he scored in the previous edition of the TNPL.

As the captain or vice-captain of your Dream11 team for the TNPL 2021 season opener between the Lyca Kovai Kings and the Salem Spartans, Shahrukh could return a huge points haul.

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#1 Vijay Shankar (Spartans)

New Zealand XI v India A

Spartans all-rounder Vijay Shankar is the only player in the side who has some international experience and will be keen to use TNPL 2021 as a platform to further his case as a viable pace-bowling all-rounder for India.

Shankar hasn't had a great season in this year's Indian Premier League and his future with the Tamil Nadu domestic team is up in the air, but he will have sufficient motivation to turn his brief rough patch around in a league that has been kind to him over the years.

Shankar is an excellent choice to be the captain or vice-captain of your Dream11 team for the TNPL 2021 season opener between the Lyca Kovai Kings and the Salem Spartans.