Tamil Nadu was among the worst-hit teams when players defected to the ICL in droves and not surprisingly, the current set-up is just a shadow of the team of title contenders in the late 1990s. After narrowly avoiding relegation during the 2006-07 season, they performed only marginally better last season, with one outright win and four draws. Fortunately, they have a couple of players knocking on the doors of national selection and the challenge now will be to click as a team and regain lost glory.

The fact the team is in transition is something their coach WV Raman acknowledges and he knows the rebuilding process requires more time and self-belief. An early defeat last season exposed the weaknesses in the top order but fortunately, it didn’t take too long for the batsmen to realise their potential. M Vijay regained his touch after a slow start, Abhinav Mukund was a find at the top of the order in his debut season and S Badrinath contributed heavily with the bat and crucially, his availability through the season helped Tamil Nadu stay afloat. The bowling, however, suffered a setback with the loss of promising offspinner R Ashwin mid-way through the season to injury.