The Story:
The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) has been surrounded by controversies right from the day the second season was announced. Firstly, there was an objection from Board Of Cricket Control in India (BCCI) which refused to recognise the leagues and barred outstation players from participating in the league. However, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) was in defiant mood and went ahead with their arrangements.
However, it seems that the latest roadblock which the T20 league has hit may cause a huge setback to the competition. According to New Indian Express, the defending champions Tutti Patriot may not be able to play in the upcoming season after the parent company owning the franchise was listed as a loan defaulter by Indian Bank.
Season to go ahead without defending champions?
The principal district court has barred Tuti Patriots, the defending champions, from participating after Indian Bank authorities filed a suit for non-payment of a loan. The team is owned by Albert Muralitharan under the banner of Thoothukudi Sports and Entertainment Private Limited for Rs 5.21 crore.
The worrying fact is that the fresh season is just three days away which has sent a shock wave in the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). As a measure to delay the prohibition, TNCA is likely to approach a higher court seeking an interim stay on the order.
“We have not received the copy of the order yet. Even though it is an issue of the franchise, the TNCA will file an appeal on their behalf because it puts the entire tournament in a jeopardy. This an eleventh-hour problem and we cannot find another team. Moreover, the players will be in a limbo. It doesn’t just affect the owners, but the entire league,” an official part of the TNPL organising committee told Express on Tuesday.
According to bank officials, the team had borrowed loan from the Indian Bank main branch in Thoothukudi, and despite repeated attempts by the bank officials, it is understood that the team didn’t repay the amounts. The loan account has been classified as a Non-Performing Asset (NPA), a bank official said.
The hearing of the case was on Tuesday where Principal District Judge N Rajasekar passed his judgement.
“The bank has advised the Tuti Patriots team to pay the loan amount on or before November 2016. However, they have not paid the amount within the stipulated time. In this situation, the team is also enrolled in the TNPL-2017 season. So we have approached the court to direct the Tuti Patriots team to repay our loan first before playing matches in the second season of TNPL. Considering our plea, the court has imposed an interim ban for the team to participate in the TNPL,” said V Radhakrishnan, General Manager, Indian Bank (Tirunelveli Zone) while addressing the media.