The franchise have recently launched two academies, aiming to expand across the state.
Australia and CSK legend Michael Hussey has hailed his former franchise’s initiative to launch cricket academies in Tamil Nadu, which will begin operations in a few months. Two locations have been announced for now, with one in Thoraipakkam and the other in Salem. Both academies will boast state of the art facilities and will be made available for both boys and girls. The vision is to expand the academy to multiple centres across the state in the coming days.
CSK has been one of the most successful franchises in the history of the Indian Premier League, winning the title on four occasions under the leadership of maverick captain MS Dhoni. CSK has relied on experienced multi-skilled players all throughout their tenure and have been massively successful with the formula. Now, with the teams all being reshuffled after the addition of two new sides, this is a perfect time for all the sides to start building talent from the grassroots level.
Hussey was mighty impressed with the venture and hoped that it would be successful in bringing more youngsters to the forefront as well as to groom local raw talent into technically sophisticated cricketers. Hussey has spent almost his entire career with the CSK, playing for the franchise from 2008-2013 and then returning in 2015 till his retirement. He also won the Orange Cap during his tenure and was the first centurion from the franchise.
“I think it’s a fantastic initiative, really excited about it.
I think this gives opportunities to so many youngsters out there to get access to some great facilities, great coaching, and then hopefully improve their game and come up the ranks and then one day.
It would be awesome to see a number of players coming out of these academies playing for CSK in the IPL,”
Hussey told the Indian Express regarding the venture.
CEO Kasi Viswanathan also spoke about the vision behind the project, as he revealed the franchise’s mission to groom local talent. He hoped that the academies could be a brilliant platform for the next generation of youngsters and added that the state of the art facilities would help aspiring cricketers greatly.
“We have been involved with cricket for five decades and believe this is an ideal way to give back to the sport. This will be the right opportunity for us to share our experience and help nurture the next generation of cricketers,”
Viswanathan was quoted as saying.
