I made the move mainly for the TNPL: Karthik Meiyappan

Former UAE leg-spinner Karthik Meiyappan moved to Chennai for TNPL, impressed Jolly Rovers CC coach, and got SRH net bowler stint.

Former UAE leg-spinner Karthik Meiyappan, bought by Siechem Madurai Panthers for ₹9.2 lakh in the 2025 TNPL auction, shifted base to Chennai last February.

This was after the Jolly Rovers CC (TNCA I div league) coach J. Hariesh asked him to come down for the Sanmar Group-owned teams (Rovers and Alwarpet CC) to have a look at him. Alwarpet eventually signed him. But that audition led to another unexpected opportunity.

“I was in contact with Hariesh. They called me down for one of the practice games. And then, because he was in the management (Asst. batting coach) for SRH then, he just offered me a stint with SRH as a net bowler. So, I travelled with them and then I was there for the whole IPL season,” he said over a phone call on Saturday.

But he insists that the primary reason he moved to Chennai, was to play in the TNPL.

“TNPL was the major thing I was looking at, actually. In UAE, we’ve never played red-ball cricket. It’s not been a thing in the UAE. It’s just been white-ball stuff for us. So, obviously, in terms of first division (TNCA league), it (bowling with the red ball) was a challenge I was looking forward to when I made the transition. But mainly, I made the move for TNPL,” he said.

The 24-year-old, who bowls the googly, slider, and top-spinner as variations, was optimistic that his SRH stint and TNCA league experience would benefit him in the TNPL.

“I’m sure that whatever I do with the TNPL, I can put myself in a very good place to get picked in the IPL,” he said.