THOOTHUKUDI: The participation of Tuti Patriots, the defending champion of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL), in this year’s edition is in limbo after a prinicipal district court barred the team from participating following a suit filed by the Indian Bank authorities over non-payment of a loan. The team was purchased by Albert Theatre owner Albert Muralitharan for Rs 5.21 crore.
With just three more days left for the meet, the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), under whose wing the TNPL comes under, is likely to approach a higher court seeking interim stay on the order. “We have not recieved 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.
Tuti Patriots is owned by Albert Muralitharan’s Thoothukudi Sports and Entertainment Private Limited. According to bank officials, the team had borrowed loan from the India Bank main branch in Thoothukudi, and despite repeated attempts from 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.
When the case came for hearing on Tuesday, Principal District Judge N Rajasekar barred the team from participating in the second edition of the meet.
Addressing media in Tirunelveli, V Radhakrishnan, General Manager, Indian Bank (Tirunelveli Zone), said: “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.”