Chepauk Super Gillies

Chepauk Super Gillies is a franchise representing the city of Chennai in the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) competition.

The franchise was one of the participants in the inaugural TNPL held in 2016 and reached the finals of the both editions of the competition. They are also the defending champions of the tournament having won it in 2017 beating Tuti Patriots under the leadership of Rajagopal Sathish.

Background

Metronation Chennai Television Private Limited bought the Chennai franchise for Rs. 5.13 crore. Hemang Badani was roped in as the coach of the side. In order to engage with the fans, the franchise started a fan competition to decide the name and logo of the franchise.

Prominent Achievements

The team reached the finals of the inaugural TNPL in 2016 after winning five of their seven games in the group stage and beating LYCA Kovai Kings in the semi-finals.

In the final, they faced Tuti Patriots who were led by Tamil Nadu stalwart Dinesh Karthik. The Patriots posted an imposing 215/2, with Abhinav Mukund scoring an unbeaten 82. The match was practically over in the first over of the Super Gillies’ chase as they lost four wickets, bowled by spinner M. Ganesh Moorthi. In the end, Super Gillies lost by 122 runs.

In 2017, the franchise won six out of seven matches in the group stage, only losing to their nemesis of last season Tuti Patriots. They lost to the Patriots in the first qualifier but managed to beat LYCA Kovai Kings in the second qualifier to set up another clash with Tuti Patriots. This time they managed to get the better of their rivals, winning by six wickets.

Career Trajectory of the club

The Chepauk Super Gillies is the second most successful sides of the tournament. The franchise boasts a win percentage of 74%, having lost only five games in the history of TNPL. This is bettered only by Tuti Patriots who have a win percentage of 77%.

The franchise has a strong connect with its Chennai fanbase which remains one of its strongest points. The franchise has been ably led by Tamil Nadu veteran Rajagopal Sathish in both the TNPL seasons. The franchise does not have much big names but are full of value for money cricketers like R. Sai Kishore, Yo Mahesh and Sathiamoorty Saravanan among others.

For the 2018 edition, the franchise failed to retain Sathish but bought the services of India international Vijay Shankar. Although they have retained most of the core group of players, the franchise has also bought new faces like Murugan Ashwin and Sunny Kumar Singh.