CHENNAI: In a first, the upcoming edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier league will see a US-based franchise owner who also has stakes in English Premier League football club Leeds United FC. Palani Gurusamy — founder of Circlebase, an IT consulting firm — will be taking over Madurai Panthers franchise from Siechem Technologies going forward as they assembled the team at the TNPL auction in Chennai on Friday.
"My family is from Kovilpatti. We moved to the US in the early 90s, went into the IT business. We also started getting into sports investments around the world. We are currently part owner of Leeds United in the UK," Gurusamy told this daily from the US.
Apart from Leeds United, they also have investments in Texas Rangers (Major League Baseball), Glasgow Rangers FC (Scottish Premiership football) and women's football teams in Germany and the United States. What made them invest in the TNPL? Gurusamy's answer is simple. "We all grew up with cricket and we wanted to get involved in the sport. We tried to do something in Major League Cricket in the US, but couldn't get in. When this opportunity came in TNPL, and we are close to Madurai, we wanted to take the chance," he said, adding that Mahesh S will continue to remain CEO while former TN cricketer KB Arun Karthik has been named head coach.
"Whenever I come home and I talk to my classmates or friends circle, everyone talks about TNPL. There is a lot of connection to local players whom we usually don't hear about. I think TNPL is reaching out to the rural areas and youngsters are actually eyeing to get in," Gurusamy explained. He went on to add that they will retain the Madurai Panthers name for the upcoming edition as the 2018 winners have a local connection with the fans.