Tuti Patriots

Tuti Patriots is a franchise based on the district of Tuticorin in Tamil Nadu who ply their trade in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). The franchise is the most successful team in this short history of the competition.

The team is one of the franchises who played in the inaugural edition of the TNPL in 2016 and were also the champions of the inaugural season under the leadership of Dinesh Karthik.

Background

The franchise was formed in 2016 when the Thoothukudi Sports and Entertainment Private Limited made the highest bid of Rs. 5.21 crore and secured the rights of the Thoothukudi team. The big bid which was made at the behest of Albert Muralidharan, the head of the company took everyone by surprise.

In 2018, Muralidharan sold his entire stake in the team to a consortium comprising of Selvakumar, Jones and Jay Yes Foundation. Both Selvakumar and Jones are prominent figures in the real estate and construction business.

Prominent Achievements

Tuti Patriots were the winners of the inaugural edition of TNPL back in 2016. The team was led by Dinesh Karthik and was mentored by Monty Desai. Former Ranji Trophy player J.R. Madanagopal who had turned around the fortunes of Vijay CC first class side was the coach.

The team participated in the first match of the competition’s history when they took on Chepauk Super Gillies, with the Patriots winning by 45 runs. The team finished in third position after the group stage having won four matches. They got the better of Dindigul Dragons in the semi-finals.

Tuti Patriots crushed Chepauk Super Gillies in the final by 122 runs. Abhinav Mukund set the match up with an unbeaten 82 off 52 deliveries. M. Ganesh Moorthi who was later adjudged the Player of the Match took 4/11 with the ball, all of which came in the very first over of the second innings.

The team reached the finals of the second edition of the tournament as well but lost to Chepauk Super Gillies this time.

Tuti Patriots finished the group stage of the tournament unbeaten, winning all seven of their matches. They beat the Chepauk Super Gillies in the first qualifier but could not repeat the feat, five days later in the final. Washington Sundar finished as the leading run-scorer of the tournament. He was also adjudged as the player of the tournament.

Career Trajectory of the club

Tuti Patriots is the most successful franchise in TNPL history. The team has lost only four games in total after a couple of seasons. Under long standing Tamil Nadu captain Dinesh Karthik, the franchise has been in perfect shape.

The club also tried to retain maximum crowd support from the Tuticorin area as well as from neighbouring districts like Ramanathapuram, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli and Kanyakumari by roping popular cricketers for the inaugural edition. These included Abhinav Mukund, Washington Sundar, Aswin Crist, V. Athisayaraj Davidson, Lakshmipathy Balaji and Aushik Srinivas.

For the 2018 edition of the tournament, the franchise decided not to retain Dinesh Karthik since his availability was in question. Although most players of their original squad have been retained once again, the team has also added the all-round capabilities of R. Sathish in the mix.