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Peter Fernandez Head Coach TNCA Academy

October 7, 2022, 9:10 pm
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Staying committed to Coaching has earned the former TN batsman the coveted role of the Head Coach of the TNCA Academy
Decades in the Coaching Former Ranji Cricketer and captain of SVPB Udumalpet Peter Fernandez has been appointed as the Head Coach of the TNCA Academy.  This is a significant turnaround for him after financial challenges he had faced a couple of years ago. His decades long experience in coaching has secured him this role, one that is expected to be a lucrative contract for Peter. It may be recalled that the then treasurer of the ICA and TN opener from the 1970s V Krishnaswamy (Kichcha V) had organised a onetime financial support in 2020 soon after the Pandemic hit the country in March 2020. Soon after this section put out a story on Peter's financial challenge, leading Coimbatore based lawyer and University cricketer from the 1970s PR Ramakrishnan (PR Ramki) brought together cricketers from Coimbatore to support Peter financially (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/05/peter-fernandez-ica-financial-assistance.html) and helped him with Rs. 1.75 Lakhs.

The shutting down of the SPIN foundation in 2016 followed by the challenges relating to the Pandemic hit him hard but Peter Fernandez’s decades of commitment to coaching has finally paid rich dividends with the TNCA appointing him as the head coach of the academy. Former TN opener CS Suresh Kumar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/07/cs-suresh-kumar-india-schools-tn-opener.html) seemed to be in the reckoning but Peter Fernandez’s experience in coaching got him through to this coveted role. Suresh Kumar had told this writer recently that he was looking to get into a coaching role with the TNCA after he had disengaged with the Pondicherry Cricket Association. He had been the coach of Pondicherry for a brief period.

Remained committed to Coaching
Peter, a BCCI Level 3 coach, was the batting coach of the academy last year. The feedback about him from the TNCA has been good. 

For well over a decade, Peter had been the head coach of the MAC Spin Foundation in Kotturpuram. He had worked closely with Robin Singh for many years. During that phase, he came in close contact with Terry Jenner, Ashley Mallet, EAS Prasanna and Maninder Singh. He also attended a coaching session on the art of leg spin conducted by Peter Philpotts at the CCI. 
In the 1990s, Peter Fernandez had attended a 10 day camp conducted by Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson at the MRF Pace Foundation. Almost 35 years ago, he had coached at the Brijesh Patel Coaching Academy in Bombay and Bangalore. It may be recalled that Brijesh and Peter played together for SVPB Udumalpet for a few years in the 1980s. Peter has also coached in an academy in Hong Kong.

Peter learned a lot on fast bowling from Pace Foundation architect TA Sekar who provided great insights on video analysis and the nuances of fast bowling.

Peter was one of the first to be roped in by SVPB (Sri Venkateswara Paper Boards) Udumalpet, whose founder Soundararajan was just beginning to promote cricket in a big way in the districts and was keen to build a strong team (SVPB Soundar). He joined SVPB in 1976 and stayed there for almost 25 years. He played for the Universities and was part of the team that won the Rohinton Baria Trophy under Bharath Reddy in the 1970s. He played only a couple of Ranji matches for TN. In the 1990s, Peter was also a Ranji selector for three years under the chairmanship of VV Kumar. He has also been an U17 and U22 selector. 

This section had last month featured a story on former TN all-rounder S Mahesh’s likely appointment as the fast bowling coach (S Mahesh TNCA Academy). PC Prakash who was the batting coach last year is set to continue in the same role.  Peter is expected to be working closely with Mahesh and Prakash (PCP)as well as with the state coach M Venkatramana (Venkatramana TN Coach).

After his playing days, Peter Fernandez has remained committed to coaching and has been on the ground with the students for well over two decades. Three of the women’s players  currently in the Indian team have been coached by Peter. He was also the coach of Varun Chakravarthy (Peter Varun) in his early cricketing days. This appointment of him as the Head Coach is a reward for his perseverance. 

This section wishes him the Best.
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World Cup 1979 Reliving the Final K Balaji The Hindu

October 8, 2022, 3:09 am
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Watching the Majestic Viv in action for the first time
The English summer of 1979 was to be a special one for India and more so for TN. S Venkataraghavan (Venkat@75) was the captain of the Indian team for both the Prudential World Cup and the test series that followed. It was a make or break test series for wicket keeper Bharath Reddy (B Reddy) who was touted by Vijay Manjrekar as India’s next big keeper after Farooq Engineer. Back in Madras, a young 24 year southpaw, K Balaji, had been ill through the start of the 1978-79 Ranji season after having topped TN’s run aggregate the previous year. In January 1979, in the only match he played in the league phase, Balaji scored a century against a strong Hyderabad attack. He was in good form and looking ahead to the new season to continue his success story. This was the backdrop against which he made his way to Lords for the final of the 1979 World Cup - also may be to get a bit of inspiration from the legendary West Indian stars of the time!!

India did not do well at the World Cup losing even to non-playing test country Sri Lanka. And a month after the World Cup, his close mate over the last many decades Bharath Reddy had a chance to be the toast of the country, but he shut shop under his captain's instructions in the final test at the Oval that literally ended his test career. 

Balaji at the World Cup Final
West Indies under Clive Lloyd were rampant and overwhelming favourites for the final against the hosts England, who over the two World Cups had displayed the most consistent bowling. 

Both during his playing days and after, Balaji was a serious follower of the game and tracked the matches and players closely and focused on the finer aspects of the game. He relives to this writer the moments from that final when he watched from the Warner Stand (the old press box) at Lords.

West Indies - Back to the wall after two hours
There were the noisy West Indian fans on one side and the more polished and traditional English supporters on the other. Balaji was one of the very few Indians in the crowd that day. 

Much against expectations, England had WI on the brink at 99/4 and when Mike Hendrick had Viv Richards plumb it was likely that the match would go another way. But much to everyone's (English Fans) dismay, Barry Mayer did not raise his finger. 40 years later, Hendrick wondered as to how Mayer did not give that out for it was as plumb as it could get. “If that had been upheld, the entire final would have been different and I would not have had to bowl the last ball to Viv” Mike told the BBC in 2019.

Randall in Action
Fielding had not been in focus for most teams that decade but Derek Randall was an exception. Balaji fondly recalls watching that great English fielder in action “The first incident from that match was the fielding of Derek Randall. He was known to be an outstanding fielder and I got a taste of his fleet footed display when he ran out the dangerous Gordon Greenidge early in the day.”

Gooch told the BBC in 2019 that brilliant on the field in that World Cup and he could thrown on the run. England had an exceptional fielder on either side of the wicket with David Gower and Derek Randall and that made a big difference on the field. It was Randall's throw that ended New Zealand's chase in the semi final with the run out of John Wright.

David Gower, who scored a double hundred against India soon after the World Cup final, remembers Randall as a natural fielder. "He loved fielding and was quick over the ground. He would walk in 20 steps"!!!

Boycott had done the star turn with the ball in the earlier matches and England trusted his performances with the ball and went in with just four regular bowlers for the final, a decision they stood to regret in hindsight.

Balaji says that he saw some pretty awful bowling in the middle overs “The regular bowlers did an outstanding job in the first couple of hours but the WI batsmen knew that they would have some easy pickings once they saw them off.  Larkins and Boycott gave it away in that middle phase and let the pressure off.”

A Knock of a life time
Balaji (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/a-blossoming-cricket-career-was-cut.html) had been to the Bangalore test in November 1974 just a few months prior to his TN debut in the Gopalan Trophy match (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/michael-dalvi-gopalan-trophy-salem.html) but Richards was dismissed cheaply by Chandra in both the innings. For the Pongal test in 1975 at Chepauk, he was away playing the University match and hence missed watching Richards bat. This was the first time he was seeing him in action with the bat “Once the momentum picked up, the duo of Collis King and Viv Richards were unstoppable. While Collis King led the assault and set the tone for West Indies’ recovery, Richards’ unbeaten century was unforgettable and magical.”
                     Photo: The Hindu (Captain Brearley in the background)

 “Till then, there had not been a cricketer as dominant as Viv. When he was at the crease, he dictated the course of the game. There was nothing the bowlers could do. The one in the World Cup Final was another illustration of his batting dominance. It was a spectacular innings. There was great excitement amongst the West Indian fans at the ground. In fact, almost the entire noise at the ground came from those fans jumping around in joy. In recent times, one has come to see all kinds of shots in cricket but that last ball six of Hendrick was a one of its kind in those days. There was none back then who could move across and flick with such nonchalance into the stands over square leg like Viv did that day.”

"I had watched one of the most memorable one day innings that had been played until then and one that remains one of the all time great knocks."

What were the experienced openers doing?
Four years earlier, Australia had come close to a similar target in the final and with the strong batting line up of England, a chase was not ruled out. But Balaji was aghast at the way they batted "There is a huge loyalty factor to attend matches in England. They have genuine interest in the game and appreciate a good knock but the crowd was restless and disappointed that evening in the way England went about their chase. They had Gooch, Gower and Botham in the middle order but two senior men Brearley and Boycott let the team down. It was difficult to understand as to what they were trying to do especially given that both were experienced.”

More than half the overs had passed and the opening partnership had posted just over a hundred. The run rate had crept up to over 8 when Gooch came in to bat. Balaji missed watching Gower bat for he got out for a duck even as England stumbled to a spectacular collapse.

Gower told the BBC that while one is always optimistic when one enters the cricket field even if its against the West Indies, a lot of the optimism on this day and over the next decade was trounced by sheer ability on the opposition side.

In the end it was a crushing defeat and Lloyd lifted the Cup for the 2nd time. Balaji has words of praise for the batsmen who rose up against the fiery fast bowlers "It was scary to watch them even from the stands. They were relentless and I hand it to those batsmen like Gavaskar who fought it out against them and came up trumps."

It had been an exciting experience for him watching a World Cup Final “Going to Lords for a World Cup Final was not easy in those days. It is not like now when you can buy tickets online. The knock of Viv Richards was unforgettable and still stands etched in my memory. It was my first taste of him and it was a memorable one."


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R Ravichandran Madras University Rohinton Baria Captain

October 11, 2022, 6:41 am
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From St. Bedes to Junior State, he captained and won everything on sight and later moved to a successful corporate career in the US
If there is a team that is chosen of those who did not make it to TN Ranji, Ravi would certainly be the Captain of that team – PR Ramakrishnan, Madras University team mate and now successful lawyer
For close to a decade, this cricketer held a unique record. He captained teams from his school to the Junior State and had a trophy under his belt at every level making him one of the most successful captains in Madras in that phase. Captaining Madras University to the Rohinton Baria Trophy  for the first time in its history and YMA (with Venkat playing under him) to a Palayampatti shield were the two biggest moments in his cricketing life. He was roped into the TN squad in the 1970s but unfortunately  he sat out an entire season donning the role of the 12th man. This Chemical Engineer worked for a couple of years at SPIC but hung his cricketing boots in his mid 20s and moved to the US where for a decade and a half he had a highly successful corporate career at Unisys and Kodak. Here’s the story.

Surrounded by Glamour
R Ravichandran had a fabulous (read glamourous!!) early life like no other cricketer in Madras. His appa Ramamoorthy who hailed from Thiru Kadaiyur (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2014/06/thiru-kadaiyur-amirtha-narayana-perumal.html) rose to great heights in the corporate world. He was the first Indian to head Kodak in India at a time when Multinational firms in India were dominated by foreigners. During the late 1960s and early 70s, he was one of the highest paid Indians in a MNC.  Being in a sector that catered to the cine industry (Kodak were into camera film and post production products), it was always gala atmosphere at home (a famous Tamil cine scriptwriter resided a few hundred yards away from his house).

Ravichandran recalls the days at home in the 1950s and 60s “The who’s who from the film industry were always at home when I returned from school. They looked up to appa for insights on the latest in film technology. It was my appa who got the owners of Gemini Colour Lab and Prasad Lab trained in the US at the Kodak headquarters. All movies were screened for us and SVS Mani and N Kumar would join me to watch those ‘exclusive premiers’. A good part of my childhood and teenage life was spent at these premiers.”

The Early cricketing days at CIT colony and Nageswara Rao Park 
His appa was a cricket enthusiast and provided great encouragement to Ravichandran during his school days. From the time he played street cricket in CIT colony and later with his friends at Nageswara Rao Park, he displayed leadership qualities and it seemed that captaincy came naturally to him. Through the 10 years of his cricket, he made No. 3 his own.  His cricket career began with him leading St. Bedes to a tournament victory against Don Bosco.

Captain Cool even during the school days
Leggie V Murali played for Parrys and was Ravichandran’s classmate at AC Tech. Later in life, he ran a coffee estate and now leads a retired life in Madras. He had many a cricketing battle against Ravichandran playing for Don Bosco against St. Bedes and then became close friends at Loyola where the two did PUC together.  
He looks back at the cricketing days in the early 60s “We beat St. Bedes in the first year on the same day that RKM beat MCC causing two big upsets in schools cricket. But the very next year, under Ravi’s captaincy, they beat us in the final. Right from that time, he was always ‘captain cool’ and was an ‘all in one cricketer’ who commanded respect from everyone. He had a princely walk to the ground even as a school boy. While he was the only one who would come in a flannel and had a top notch cricketing gear, he was always down to earth and very friendly in his approach with his teammates and the opposition. He was outstanding at the school and college level  and most of us were of the view that he would be a sure bet for Ranji but it was unfortunate that he did not play for the state. It was he who transformed cricket at AC Tech and brought us to winning ways beating the more fancied colleges.”

The Big Finals day in Schools Cricket
Ravichandran recalls playing that school final (that Murali referred to above) in front of a big crowd “It was simply overwhelming. Both the schools had declared a holiday. As a captain, it was a great experience to soak up pressure at that young age. Personally, it was a double delight - winning the tournament and contributing in the final with a half century.”
                        20 year old handsome boy

Appa’s cricketing support is something that Ravichandran cherishes to this day “Appa would watch me from his car. If I did not start well with the bat, he would move the car a bit. He also brought visiting Englishmen from Kodak to the ground to watch me bat and captain. And that added extra pressure on me at that young age but I enjoyed the experience of performing in front of them.”

“His support towards my cricket was unconditional. He bought me the best cricket gear including Gray Nicolls bat, one that Ram Ramesh took from me for the state match.”

His class mate at school N Kumar, now VC at Sanmar Group ( N Kumar Mayura) played with Ravi for TSC in the TNCA league. He recalls Ravi from his schooling years “He was a stylish batsman.  His leadership qualities came to the fore even as a teenager. Outside of his cricketing achievements, he was and continues to be a very good human being. While we were very close during our schooling days, in recent decades he became one of Sankar's best friends and the two spent a lot of time watching matches and movies together.”

A class topper all through
Ravichandran made steady progress in cricket playing and captaining city and state schools. He won the school boy cricketer award in 64-65. He captained TSC to league championship victories taking the team from the V division to the first.  For a youngster who spent a lot of time on the cricket field and with cine personalities throughout his teenage phase, he was a topper all through his schooling years and he walked into AC Tech after PUC at Loyola. 

At AC Tech, he captained a rather unfancied cricket team to many victories. Spin twins Bhargav Mehta and N Bharathan often bundled out the opposition while Ravichandran anchored the batting.  

V Ravikumar retired as the Executive Director of AV Thomas and now lives a quiet life in the beautiful city of Mysore. He was three years Ravichandran's junior at AC Tech and has some wonderful recollections from those glorious years at college “It was a tradition for only the final year students to captain the college team but Ravi was a natural leader and he broke that tradition!!”
Ravikumar was playing 5th division cricket for Royapettah CC when he joined AC Tech. He was warned by his classmates to not go anywhere near the cricket team as they perceived it as being full of politics but Ravikumar’s passion got the better of him and he tried to give it a shot and went to the selection trials much against the advice of his friends. He recounts the meritorious approach of Ravichandran and his ability to test the real abilities of a cricketer ‘When I told him I was an opening batsman, he got me padded up against the extraordinary spin twins N Barathan and Bharghav Mehta. He also had fast bowler Varun Kaiwar bowl at me at the nets.”

Like any cricket mad teenager, Ravikumar went eagerly to the notice board the next morning hoping against hope for his name to  feature in the squad for that season. Much to his delight, his was the 14th and final name in the list. He recounts that moment“A hand softly touched my shoulder from behind. As I turned around, it was Ravichandran conveying his congratulations and best wishes to me. He asked me to come to the nets that evening. He always made his teammates feel that they (we) ‘belonged’ and that each player was an integral member of the team. It simply boosted our confidence.”

“Ravi was a charming personality and a natural leader. He personally appreciated every contribution both of his teammates and the opposition. He was always composed and never lost his cool even when in tense situations. A prime example of this was when AC Tech suffered a shock loss to an unfancied MIT. He accepted defeat gracefully and immediately went up to the opposition captain to congratulate him.”

Heroism written all over him
Ravikumar recounts another distinctive quality of Ravichandran. “He stood up when the chips were down. Heroism was written all over him. In a tournament final, he broke his thumb while batting against Pachaiappas’ Ramanujam (later IOB and US). He went pillion to the Royapettah Hospital and came back to the ground with stitches. By this time, we had collapsed to 30 for 7. He played with one hand with the tail for company and got us to within a few runs of victory till a controversial LBW decision ended our innings. But it was bravado at its best.”

One of his two Biggest Moments 
His biggest achievement in his decade long cricket career was captaining Madras University, a team that included future Ranji players V Krishnaswamy, V Sivaramakrishnan and P Mukund, to its first Rohinton Baria Cup in 40 years.

PR Ramakrishnan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/10/pr-ramakrishnan-coimbatore-cricketer.html), who was an integral part of that middle order, says that Ravi stood out as a leader of men “He was an astute captain. If there is a team of those who did not break into the TN Ranji squad, Ravi will certainly be the captain.  He read the game very well, made the correct moves all the time, placed the field right and had the right bowlers on at the right time. Most importantly, he always chose the XI on merit.”

Ramakrishnan also played under Ravi at YMA“He brought the best out of the players and was easy to move with. He would always discuss the strategy with his teammates and gathered their (our) thoughts as well.” 

Ramakrishnan says that Ravi was a ‘charming’ guy, had the gift of the gab and was a true leader.

The Lucky Rs. 10 coin
The ten rupee coin was a rarity those days. 50 years ago. Ramakrishnan had one. He narrates how that coin became close to Ravi’s heart (finger). “I handed him the coin once for the toss. He won both the toss and the match. And then every time he asked for the coin. In the final, when he could not find me just before the toss, he sent teammates to search for me to get the coin from me. He won the toss and the match.”
Ramki is not able to recall now if the coin was permanently handed to Ravi!!!!

Ravichandran himself counts the South Zone final against Bangalore as the best he had played in. “Victor brought us back into the match with six wickets and then Ramki and I won the match chasing in the fourth innings.” 

The Best Captain
Victor Fernandez, who later went on to become a selector at U13-U19 levels and a VP at TNCA, played under Ravichandran for Madras University and Junior State. Five decades after that famous win against Bangalore, Victor  told this writer that Ravi was easily the best captain he had played under “I also played under Venkat but Ravi was easily the best captain during my time. He got the best out of the players. He was quite sharp and made quick judgments.”

When the match was getting out of hand, Ravichandran fielded at mid off and constantly spoke to his bowlers.
“When we had given away the lead against a strong Bangalore in that crucial match, he came up to during the innings break to say that I had it in me to break the back of the Bangalore innings. That pep talk made all the difference and I got my off cutters going that day and went on to pick 6 wickets. Without Ravi, it may have been a different story that day. All of us had great regard for him as a captain and a human being and I thoroughly enjoyed playing under him"recalls Victor of how Ravi was the motivational force behind the strong comeback in the second innings.

An inspiration
Former Bombay and TN Ranji batsman S Srinivasan was growing up as a school boy in that phase and used to watch matches at the leading grounds in Madras. He says that he drew a lot of inspiration from watching Ravichandran bat and captain at Marina and helped him later as a batsman.

Jealous of Ravi!!!!
Y. Gee. Mahendra and Ravichandran were 'last benchers' at Loyola and AC Tech and their friendship has lasted for close to six decades. Y. Gee recalls his first meeting with Ravichandran in the 1960s “There was a great cricketing rivalry between Don Bosco and St Bedes in those days. I was introduced to Ravi by my captain Vijayaraghavan. Even though we were in the opposition, all of us liked him. There was a certain style to him that could not be missed when one was at the ground. The respect for him was so much that even today everyone addresses him as ‘skip’.”

"At AC Tech, I was the cheerleader of the cricket team and was at all the matches he played. I was a big fan of his in the way he played cricket and conducted himself. We had mutual admiration for each other and shared similar tastes (MSV/Kannadasa/Shivaji/ GRV fans). I led the music competitions at AC Tech and he would always be present to cheer me up."

Ravichandran was part of  Mahendra's drama troupe at AC Tech. Y Gee reveals an unknown facet of Rav "He was a specialist in ‘Madras Baashai’. Hence I assigned him that role in the drama that we put out at the college and he turned out to be a big hit. He had a great sense of humour and was a fun loving fellow."
"Much later when we went to the US, we stayed at his house in Rochester and he was the one who first took us to the Niagara falls." 

While Y Gee was a great cricket fan of Ravi, he says he was jealous of one thing about his close friend "All the teenage girls were at him and we always felt ignored!!! I would always pull his leg on that. He was a charming and handsome guy and it was no wonder that he attracted the right attention."

A Good friend to have 
His senior by a few years at St. Bedes and former TN batsman AG Satvinder Singh (Satvindar@75) has high words of praise for Ravichandran's qualities as a human being "He was an affable guy, very friendly, always smiling and has been a good friend to have over the last many decades. He was a fine gentleman and very kind hearted. Whenever we played at Vivekananda college ground, Ravi would bring us loads of ice cool water especially on hot cricketing days that helped quenched our thirst.”
He was a shrewd captain as well. "In a match at Chepauk on a very wet wicket, YMA captained by Ravi shot us (Alwarpet) for less than 20. He handled the team very well and had a positive impact on his teammates."

Hat- Trick man from the early 1970s B Kalyanasundaram (Kalli) is now settled in Pondicherry. He remembers how he had Ravi stumped in a league match against Bunts at the Marina“Ravi came forward and was beaten off three successive balls. Suddenly captain and wicket keeper KR Rajagopal came closer to the stumps and I noticed this as I was on the run up and immediately stopped. Raja shouted at me asking me to bowl and the very next delivery Ravi was stumped. On his way back to the pavilion, Ravi jokingly and sportingly commented that it was Raja’s wicket and not mine. Very truly so.”

A big impact as a captain
Dashing TN opener from the late 1960s KR Rajagopal (KR Raja) has been undergoing serious health issues in recent times at his home in Koromangala, Bangalore having to get Dialysis done four times a week. Despite his ill heath and a fading memory, he remembers the terrific contribution made by Ravichandran to every team that he played “He was the talk of the town when he captained Madras University to that famous first victory in Rohinton Baria. He was a solid batsman who made consistent runs but made a bigger impact as a captain bringing his team members together as a winning unit at every level that he led. He was an inspirational captain."
The Captain’s permission
Former India wicket keeper Bharath Reddy (B Reddy) was in the Junior State team of which Ravichandran was the captain. He recalls the match at the Guindy Engineering College when he sought the permission of his captain to leave mid match “I was in the playing XI but on the second day of the match, they called me for the Rest of India match against Bombay in Bangalore and Ravi let me go. He was a good man at heart and a fine captain and it was sad that he missed out on playing Ranji.

A Big Moment – Venkat’s Gesture at YMA!!!
After watching him captain TSC to successive wins in the league, Bunts Management comprising of senior players offered him the captaincy in the first division. Ravichandran considers it a great honour to have captained Bunts. After his Engineering degree, Sriraman roped him into YMA, a team run by SPIC, where he worked as Project Engineer for a couple of years.

YMA was seen as a team that comprised of ‘Venkat and 10 others’. When Venkat (Venkat @ 75) was away at Derbyshire or on international duty, Ravichandran captained YMA. He recalls a proud moment from that season when YMA won the Palayampatti shield “In the final game of the season, when the opposition captain was waiting for the toss, Venkat came up to me and asked me to go. He told me that I had led the team to the Championship and it was only appropriate that I should continue to captain in the final match of the season as well. It was a great gesture from him and showed the greatness of the man. It was one of my biggest moments in cricket.”

He took inspiration from Venkat’s never say die attitude“When we were once shot out for 60, he took us into the dressing room at Marina and in his typical ‘teeth biting’ style said ‘if they could get us out for 60, we surely can bundle them out for 30. And that’s exactly how it turned out.”

Confidence building High Pressure games
Ravichandran says that the cricketing decade was a great learning phase in his life.  He recalls the huge pressure the boundary fielders were subject to in in those days in matches in Madras “In a Buchi Babu match against Mafatlal at Marina, Ashok Mankad hit Venkat high to long off. There were a couple hundred people just a few yards behind me. They yelled as the ball went high in the air that it will be spoken about till the end of my life if I dropped that catch. Such situations severely tested your ability to remain calm under pressure. Playing under pressure in front of big crowds and coming up trumps built up the confidence levels.” 

The corporate chiefs too came to watch the games and one had to be conscious of the fact that some of them were analysing the personalities of the cricketers “After I got out for 30 chasing a wide one from Ghavri,  Rane’s chief L Narayanan came up to me that evening with a polite enquiry on the shot I played. It had a telling effect on me and reminded me that I was being closely watched." 

A Polished, No-Politics man
Former India fast bowler and architect of MRF Pace Foundation TA Sekar (Sekar TA) was as quick  as it could get in his time. He faced off with Ravichandran in Salem in the Ramadurai Trophy Final and his fine performance with the ball led him to be selected as an understudy to Kalli in the state squad. He says Ravi was a Polished, No-Politics man. "He was a good communicator and that helped him in his captaincy." 

Captain with the Golden Touch
VV Giri played together with Ravi for YMA. He says that Ravi commanded respect from all the players who played under him. "Ravi was a charismatic personality. Whatever he touched turned gold (all the decisions he took as a captain produced results). Of course it must be said that he had a very good team. He was special as a captain and he made it count in crucial matches. He was a gentleman to the core and was very knowledgeable both on cricketing matters and worldly affairs."

The big regret in cricket 
One of the state selectors watched his classy unbeaten 90 against Alwarpet at Viveka and immediately roped him into the Ranji squad but like Ramakrishnan he did not get to play a single match. He was also in the Madras squad that went to ceylon for the Gopalan Trophy match but there too he did not manage to get into the XI “I was sitting out for the first time in my life. It was a frustrating experience to don the role of a 12th man for an entire season. I would have liked to have graduated from University and Junior state to Ranji cricket.”

But he is quick to point out that it was his own undoing “I was very interested in cricket and passionate about the game but my biggest regret is that I did not practice hard enough to build on my batting talent and push my case at the next level with big scores. The cine attraction was too much of a temptation and I watched a lot of movies at those exclusive screenings."

It was also the time he fell in love with a ‘beautiful’ Stella Maris girl and this too took some of his time away from practice.

He had enjoyed a fantastic friendly relationship with his appa during the first two decades of his life and he announced with great ease his love for Shashi “He was a great friend. When I wanted to convey my love, I just went up to him at his office and expressed my intent. Immediately, he picked up the phone and communicated to her appa and fixed up the wedding. The communication with him was always as one of a close friend.”
                    Shivaji Ganesan at Ravi's Wedding

Ravichandran married Shashi in 1975 at a wedding that was attended by the entire cine and cricketing fraternity. Shivaji Ganesan who was a regular to the CIT colony home of Ravi's appa delighted Ravi by being at the wedding. Ravichandran was a great fan of Shivaji's acting and never missed his movies. 

Appa’s message for life
He says that his appa was a self-made man having lost both his parents before he was out of his teens (his appa had lost his appa when he was just one and his amma when he was a teenager). After sitting on the sidelines with the Ranji team, he decided to hang his boots and was never to touch the cricket bat again. 

He quit the job at SPIC, prepared hard for GMAT and came out with a high percentile. He got admitted into the Illonois University (the same one that N Sankar and N Srinivasan went to) with scholarship.

He recalls the sendoff moment when his appa shared a message that has remained with him over the last five decades“With tears in his eyes, he gave me a message that has stayed with me ever since. ‘You need to have good friends in life. Do not ever forget those that helped you in your hour of need. Treat people with dignity’."

Corporate Success 
In the late 1970s, he joined UNISYS and went on to manage four states in the US. Into the 1980s, when he had three job offers on hand, his amma wanted him to join Kodak “namakku sappadu potta company” she told me, recalls Ravichandran. After serving for over 7 years, when he had to return to India due to his mother in law’s ill health, Kodak gave him a one year lien but Ravichandran was never to return to the US for employment.

On his return to India, he helped his father in law grow the conveyor belt business expanding it globally. At the turn of the century, he was involved for four years with a software start up before he set up his own ePublishing firm that he has been running for well over 15years now.  His wife worked at Raj Vattukkutty and VV Sundaram’s CBSI for a few years at MEPZ Tambaram and later at Stanchart before she too turned entrepreneurial.

NO to Cricket
In the 1990s, U Prabhakar Rao asked him to get back into cricket and offered the role of a junior state selector “He told me that I had had a successful experience at the university and junior state level and that I would be able to assess players well.” 

But Ravichandran stayed away from cricket and was never to have an official engagement with cricket again.
Since his return, he had become very close to N Sankar (nsankar@75), who passed away earlier this year.“I was almost part of his household. He was like my Man Mentor. We also travelled a lot together including to watch Wimbledon and cricket internationals in England.”

A Rich Captaincy Experience
Its now just over 50 years since that famous win the Rohinton Baria tournament. Ravichandran looks back at his decade long captaincy stint and points to some of the factors that contributed to his success “I was perceptive as a captain. I closely watched the stance and back lift of every batsman. I was never intimated by the opposition. When an in-form Brijesh Patel came into bat, I posted a short leg and leg slip and gave Barathan the confidence that he could get Patel out cheaply. And he did.”

Ravichandran did not make big hundreds like some of his team mates. He feels he would have batted more freely if he not been a captain ‘The Captaincy was a great opportunity to lead a bunch of great cricketers but personally it meant that I had to shoulder a lot of responsibility. One could not be flippant as a captain. I had to live up to the responsible position and that led me to play well within myself.”

He says he was rationale as a captain. Empathy was one of his most distinguishing qualities best illustrated after Rammohan hit that boundary in the Semi Final against Calcutta to secure a tense one wicket win. “The opposition captain was completely distraught and in tears. I went up to him, put my hands around his shoulder and consoled him. I knew that on another cricketing day, I could have easily been in the position.” 

Captaincy helped greatly in building his man management and communication skills. As he moved into the corporate world in the US, the cricketing experience led him to easily address large gatherings. 
His greatest joy in recent times has been the exceptional success of his two children – his daughter is the MD of the $7trillion Blackrock and his son runs his own Fund. Both are alumni of PSBB KK Nagar.

A Religious Life over the last decade
His father in law was the first secretary of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide. While Swami Dayananda, Sringeri Acharya and Maha Periyava were regulars at his house during his youth and there have been hundreds of homams performed, he has personally turned extremely religious over the last decade or so. He reads the Gita and other ancient scriptures every day and  says that the spiritual endeavor is the real battery charger and 'I feel ‘souped up’ after every such exercise'.
Though he did not get to play in the Ranji Trophy, Ravichandran has fond memories of the cricketing phase in his life "It was a glorious phase in my life. There was no TV in those days and fans thronged in large numbers to watch even a school final. The grounds were packed and while that meant there was pressure on the players, it also served as a great motivation to perform for every good knock or a spell was acknowledged by the fans and we felt like celebrities. Those were lovely old days and very enjoyable ones.  My appa had wanted me to have good friends. Cricket has helped forge life long friendship with so many of my teammates. It has been the greatest blessing to be able to chat up and reminisce with those mates 50years after the Rohinton Baria victory."
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TNCA Academy Head Coach Twist in Tale

October 13, 2022, 10:28 am
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Peter Fernandez pulls out, PC Prakash set to become the Head Coach 
This section had put out a story last Saturday that former TN batsman Peter Fernandez was appointed as the Head Coach of the TNCA Academy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/10/peter-fernandez-head-coach-tnca-academy.html). Following the story, congratulatory and best wishes messages had poured in to Peter on the social media cricketing group on his appointment and Peter thanked all of them for their wishes.

Secretary of the TNCA, RS Ramaswamy, told this writer late on Thursday evening that Peter had met him on Saturday with a plan of action as the Head Coach but informed him subsequently that he had a change of heart and that he did not want the role of the Head Coach.
Ramaswamy confirmed to this writer that TN middle order batsman from the 1980s PC Prakash has been appointed as the Head Coach of the TNCA Academy and that he was likely to sign the contract early next week. 

When contacted late on Thursday evening, Peter did not disclose the reasons for the change in his decision. 
In April this year, this section had put out a story on PC Prakash's over five decades association with cricket (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/04/pc-prakash-tn-ranji-1980s.html)

Last month, this section had featured a story on Prakash riding 60kms on his bullet over the weekend to grounds afar to watch lower division league matches of the teams that he was taking care of this year.

Prakash has been the batting coaching of Tamil Nadu in the past and has also  been the coach at different age group levels. Last year, he was the batting coach of the TNCA Academy.

Best Wishes to PCP as the Head Coach of the TNCA Academy.
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Banker N Muralidharan Promoting Prabhandham and Vedic Learning

October 14, 2022, 7:09 am
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Converting a Crisis into a Devotional Opportunity
He made a significant financial investment selling all his shares to build a Learning Center Prabhandham and Vedas after Vardah damaged his house
The Vedic Group have recited Achidram 219 Ekadasis without a break and are now reciting Ashwamedham as well every Ekadasi over the last year
When the Vardah Cyclone hit Madras in December 2016, the ancient house of former Syndicate Bank and Repco Home Finance staffer N Muralidharan in T Nagar was falling off and it necessitated a reconstruction. He had been involved in learning and recital of Divya Prabhandham for the previous 15years. 

Driven by devotion, he decided to build a hall as part of the reconstruction, one that would be completely dedicated to the recital of the sacred verses and to students learning these.

When Andavan Ashramam announced the commencement of the Divya Prabhandham class at its center on Desikachari Road in Mylapore in 2003 soon after Muralidharan took voluntary retirement, he joined along with 300 others. His devotional commitment to learning was so high that he was one of only 10odd devotees to stay through the full length of the course till 2010 and get certified by acharya Thiruvahindrapuram Kannan.

Muralidharan  says that his Prabhandham acharya was outstanding. Even today, a dozen years after completion,  the way he presented the pillaianthaathi verses is fresh in my memory and is like nectar to us.

Soon after the Prabhandham course, he began learning the Vedas first from Navalpakkam Varadachari and then over the last decade from Kuruchi Lakshmi Narasimha Swami. 

A Damaged House into a Learning Center
When Vardah hit, his house was badly damaged. At that time, he had got immersed devotionally into the Prabhandham and Vedas and was reciting Desikar Prabhandham and Stotras as a group. He was keen to reconstruct the damaged house into a Center for Learning the sacred verses. One of his vedic team members, Rangachari, put him on to a structural engineer, Pichandi from Koyambedu, who agreed to reconstruct the building but when he shared the financial details of the reconstruction Muralidharan was in a state of shock and was in tears.
His devotional wish was to make this as a destination for the likeminded who wanted to learn and recite prabhandham and the vedas and a platform for the nextgen to learn the sacred verses and to present on special days in the year. And even as he looks back at that moment when he looked to the Lord for solution, devotional tears roll down once again. For two decades, he had been performing Thirumanjanam every Swathi for Lord Narasimha and he sought a solution from Him.

As per the Lord’s direction, he gave the go ahead to the engineer but did not  have financial wherewithal to fund the construction. 

It was then that he decided to sell all his shares and financial investments to source the finances for this reconstruction. 

2017 - Opens Prabhandham and Vedic learning Center
On Akshaya Trithiyai day in 2017, the Prabhandham and Vedic Center of Learning “Sudarshan” was inaugurated by Purasai Ranganathan, former GM of Philips and the backbone to Muralidharan’s devotional endeavours.
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He looks back with great happiness at the God's blessings "Till then, the prabhandham and veda classes had been in different locations. Now 40students congregated at ‘Sudarshan’ every week for the vedic classes under Acharya Kuruchi Swami."

Record 10 year Presentation of Achidram
He also feels blessed that as a team they have been able to follow a religious process during Ekadasi and to have presented Achidram without a break for ten years "We have been reciting Achidram every Ekadasi since 2012 and have just completed the 219th  presentation this month. We celebrated the 200th Ekadasi with a series of Upanyasams including one by Anantha Padmanabhachariar. In the last year, we have also begun reciting Ashwamedham every Ekadasi in addition to Achidram." 

Every year on the 27th day of Karthigai, the group presents Paduka Sahasram at this center of Learning as a one day Parayanam.

20 young boys join this year
When the 46th Jeer of the Ahobila Mutt came to this center earlier this year, he was keen for Muralidharan to add young boys in good numbers to these classes to compliment the presentation of the seniors. And thus over the last nine months, 20 new boys aged below 15 have begun learning Stotra Paadam from Thyaga Varadarajan (Srivatsan), Sanskrit teacher at KV Tambaram.

Earlier this month, on the occasion of Vedantha Desikar’s birthday, all these students came together as a group at Sudarshan Center of Learning. Each of the students were presented a hundi with the objective of encouraging the savings mindset in them. Visaka Hari’s disciple Rishi presented an upanyasam on the occasion.

Every year on the morning of Chitrai Pournami, Srinivasa Perumal of Vedantha Desikar temple, Mylapore makes his way to ‘Sudarshan’.
His Wife - Pillar of Strength 
Sumithra, wife of Muralidharan, has been a pillar of strength in this devotional endeavour. At every sacred congregation, the students and acharya are presented with a special sweet and badam milk. She has also learnt the Divya Prabhandham as well as Yadavabdhiyam, Bhagavatam, Ramayana slokas among other stotra paadams under the tutorship of Smt Devaki, who has trained over 100 students.

When Vardah Cyclone badly damaged his house, he could have gone down and become depressed. Instead he found a devotional opportunity in the crisis and created a new center of learning that has been promoting Prabhandam and Vedas. He has also been constantly encouraging young vedic students to come and present the Vedas at this center. His has been a yeomen service in the spiritual world and one that has taken place over a long period of time.

'Sudarshan' is located on Habibullah Road near Karnataka Sangha School
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SRJ Straight Bat CSK Owner N Srinivasan

October 20, 2022, 2:31 am
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SR Jagannathan's Egmore Excelsiors Completes 75 years - Son Parthasarathy presents Commemorative Bat and Ball to N Srinivasan 
First Division runner up Trophy to be named after SRJ in recognition of his contribution, Best U19 cricketers to get 'SRJ Straight Bat' every year
Former TNCA and BCCI President and CSK's Owner N Srinivasan was a very good tennis player in the 1950s. He was in the first tennis camp when legendary TK Ramanathan launched one in RA Puram. After watching him play, Ramanathan had remarked ‘Whatever this boy does in his life, he will not give up easily.  Even when he is back to the wall, it is likely he will fight till the end’, Ramanathan Krishnan had told this writer in 2015 on what his appa had thought of N Srinivasan and his fighting spirit (Ramanathan Krishnan).

This Monday evening, the former Chairman of the ICC was seen in cricket action at Chepauk. Treasurer of the TNCA J Parthasarathy who had led Egmore Excelsiors in his playing days was keen to celebrate the 75th anniversary last year but could not do so due to the Pandemic restrictions. Finally on Monday (Oct 17), he presented the specially made commemorative SRJ branded bat and ball to N Srinivasan who in line with the brand also played with a Straight Bat. 

Parthasarathy’s appa SR Jagannathan along with his close friend JC Mohan, had started Egmore Excelsiors in 1946 bringing together a bunch of enthusiastic cricket loving youngsters to play in the TNCA league. SRJ as he was popularly known in the cricket circles was just 20 years old when he launched the club. The family resided in Egmore for several decades and that was probably a reason for the club to name as ‘Egmore Excelsiors’, says Parthasarathy. 

He has now brought out a commemorative series of cricket bats and balls to celebrate the 75th year of starting Egmore Excelsiors Cricket Club. N Srinivasan received the bat, a red cricket ball and a white cricket ball. CEO of CSK KS Viswanathan (CSK CEO KSV) was also present on the occasion. The logo and design (an umpire signaling a six!!!) of the stickers on the bat have been done by Parthasarathy’s son and daughter.

SRJ missed out on Ranji
Parthasarathy recalls the 1950s when his appa came close to making a Ranji Debut “He was a dour batsman who did not get out and a leg spinner. One could hear the ball zip in the air after the release. While he came very close to a Ranji debut, he could not break through into the XI. But there were quite a few others from the club like Sarangapani, Balakrishnan, Krishnamurthy and Arul Das who did make into the Ranji team.”

Later, former Ranji Trophy winning captain and now Chairman of TN Selectors S Vasudevan (Ranji Captain Vasudevan) and TN left hand batsman from the 1980s R Madhavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/10/r-madhavan-tn-cricketer-1980s.html)were closely associated as teenage cricketers with SRJ and his club.

Was fearless in his actions
The Rajah of Pudukottai played for the club in the TNCA league when he was in the peak of his powers. Parthasarathy remembers his appa narrating an incident from a league match ‘When my appa cut short Rajah’s bowling spell, he wanted to go to the deep field, in anger. My appa asked him to go to third man!!!’

Unfortunately a motor cycle accident led to SRJ’s cricketing career being cut short on the field. However for the next five decades or so till his death a decade ago, he was active at the TNCA and fought for club members’ interests right through. He was fearless, worked selflessly with conviction and was a fighter all the way, says Parthasarathy.

A role in Annadurai's appointment
In the late 1980s, he mobilized the club members and called for a special general body meeting to and discuss and pitch for the appointment of Annadurai as the Secretary. A year later, Annadurai was appointed.

TNCA Tamasha in his cricket magazine
Just before the turn of the century, he launched ‘Straight Bat’, a one of its kind cricket magazine that had the who’s of who of cricket writers contributing. An interesting feature of the magazine was that it included a ‘TNCA Tamasha’ section providing insights on the happenings at the association.

SRJ fought for club members’ cause and was the one responsible for getting a free lunch during international matches at Chepauk that till then had been available only for select people. He was also the one who got the members the cark park at the stadium, which again until then had been at a premium. Rain Water Harvesting at Chepauk was another initiative that he was closely associated with.

He was the one who insisted on the gates to be named after AG Ram Singh and MJ Gopalan.

TNCA meetings - Record attendance
SRJ attended a record 60 consecutive general body meetings at the TNCA. He was also known for coming up with long lists for these meetings and many a time the meeting went into the 2nd day. When Parthasarathy presented the bat to N Srinivasan on Monday, CSK’s owner made a remark “Your appa would keep us locked in the meeting room for two days”!!!
SRJ Straight Bat to Best U19 cricketers
In memory of his appa, Parthasarathy has also initiated a presentation of the ‘SRJ Straight Bat’ to the Best U19 City, District and Schools cricket every year. The first of the presentations will be made at TNCA’s annual day celebrations next month.

SRJ had made a significant contribution to the TNCA and the runner up trophy in the first division league is being named after him. 

TNCA’s Treasurer Parthasarathy, whose three year term is ending soon, is also hoping to give these high quality ‘SRJ’ bats to deserving batsmen at very affordable prices.
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Super Kings Academy Mega Expansion Plans

October 23, 2022, 11:46 am
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Super Kings Academy plans to open 100 coaching centers in 5 years
Opportunities to open up for 800 coaches to work at the academy 
Could become the first city based academy to set up an overseas center in the UK

Super Kings Academy (SKA), run by Super Kings Ventures Pvt. Ltd., is planning the biggest cricket coaching academy expansion in the country. The academy which launched with two centers in Chennai and Salem in April this year is embarking on a mega expansion programme. SKA plans to open at least a 100 centers in the country through the franchise route. The academy is also planning a center in the UK. 
 
In January this year, this section had featured a story on the Chennai and Hyderabad plans of  'Coaching Beyond', an initiative of Bharat Arun, Ravi Shastri and R Sridhar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/01/b-arun-ipl-son-adithya-coaching-academy.html).

But this one - Super Kings Academy- with its financial strength and through franchise partnerships  is likely to bring in scale in the immediate term that one has not seen in TN in the past.  Former first division cricketer Louis Mariano, who is anchoring the academy on the ground, told this writer that within the first six months of the launch, over 400 students have signed up in the two centers. "By March next year, we would have opened coaching centers in at least another four locations including Hosur, Tirunelveli and Trichy. As we go forward, we will also be setting our sights outside the state."

Takes up 8 new clubs in the TNCA league
To providing opportunities to play in the TNCA league, eight Clubs have been taken up this season with students from SKA centers in Chennai and Salem already having begun to play for these clubs at the start of the new league season. 

CSK, which has over the last 14years been using the nets facilities at Chepauk, is setting a huge state of the art own practice facility in Navalur that is likely to be fully functional next year. And the best of the students from SKA could also get access to this facility and to practising with the CSK legends.

Overseas Exposure
With CSK's global network, the students at SKA are likely to get a lot of international exposure. Before end of December, Super Kings Academy is set to host two overseas teams – one from the UK and another from South Africa. “Playing against these overseas clubs will be a first of its kind experience that kids in the city have not experienced so far. This is a big differentiator for us” says Louis.

CSK players interact with SKA students
CSK CEO KS Viswanathan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/02/ks-viswanathan-tnca-bcci-ipl.html), who himself had emerged as a cricketer from Tirunelveli in the 1970s, said that the focus will be on expanding the coaching network in Tier 2 and 3 locations and to improve the cricketing infrastructure in the districts. The possibility of CSK cricketers visiting the camp at regular intervals will be a positive influence on the students at the SKA, he said "CSK cricketers including Ruturaj Gaekwad, Deepak Chahar, Robin Uthappa and Mukesh Choudhary have already visited the camp in recent months and that has given a lot of confidence to the students." 

A former Ranji cricketer who is in the real estate space said that there was word out in the market to identify a house for MS Dhoni in Chennai, an indication that the legend could made the city his second home. If that happens, it will be great news for the SKA students for that could then throw up opportunities for interaction with him.

New Head Coach
KSV had told this writer that S Sharath (ATG Sharath), J Gokulakrishnan (who also developed the coaching manual), former TN Ranji Captain S Suresh and Sreekumar Nair had been playing a pivotal role in coaching in the initial phase in the first six months of the launch sharing their knowledge with the students. 

As each of these former Ranji cricketers are engaged in larger roles at the BCCI, Louis had told this writer that the academy was looking for a Head Coach. Even as the fire crackers went out, he confirmed on the eve of Deepavali that the coach has been shortlisted and an official appointment was likely to take place shortly but he could not reveal the name of the head coach.

It is likely that the Head Coach will be one about whom this section has featured many stories over the last decade!!!

A decade ago, it was unlikely any academy in Chennai would have dreamt of a 100 cricket coaching centers in India but SKA with its brand is aiming big and with CSK's IPL success, it will be a go to center for many of the teenagers who have IPL as their big dream.  If the country wide plan is anything to go by, there could be tens of thousands of students getting coached across the country at SKA in the next five years. And this could throw up opportunities for as many as 800 cricket coaches across the country. That will be a big job creation in the cricket space that did not exist at the turn of the new century.
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RS Ramaswamy TNCA Secretary

October 31, 2022, 3:12 am
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He was on the verge of making his debut for TN Juniors at the age of 21 but Jaundice kept him out of the tournament and soon after his brother’s untimely death ended his cricketing ambitions
In this 2nd innings in cricket, this rank outsider from Salem was handpicked by N Srinivasan for the responsible post of TNCA Secretary that he served during one of the most challenging times
He was a late starter in cricket and got into serious mode only during his three year college phase in Coimbatore. His performances in the districts matches got him into the TN Junior squad when he was 21 but struck by Jaundice he made his way to the hospital instead of the cricket ground. He came back strong with ambitions of playing Ranji cricket but soon after, his elder brother died in a road accident. Responsibility of family business cut short his playing career. In his 2nd innings in cricket he has donned the role of an administrator for close to four decades. Impressed with his professional approach, N Srinivasan handpicked him as the Secretary of the TNCA and he led the association creditably during the Pandemic and after. With his term as the secretary of the TNCA coming to an end this Saturday, he will take his first administrative break from cricket in almost 40 years. Here is the story.

Manning the Score Board
Hailing from Salem, RS Ramaswamy spent his early childhood playing tennis. While he did not play serious cricket till into his mid teens, he did watch every big cricket match in Salem and was a regular at the Pongal test in Madras right from his early schooling days. In the match that Michael Dalvi made that big hundred in Salem (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/michael-dalvi-gopalan-trophy-salem.html), Ramaswamy remembers him as a 16 year old taking care of the score board at the ground. He also recalls AG Satvinder Singh (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/04/satvinder-singh75.html) hitting the Andhra spinner out of the ground in the Ranji match in 1975  in what he says was the biggest six in Salem!!!

It was only after he turned 15 that he began to play serious cricket under coach SA Narayanan, who also coached the new BCCI President Roger Binny, a student of Montford school in Salem. His big turnaround happened after he moved to Coimbatore for his Collegiate education. Those three years was a golden phase in his playing career. 
Aged 19, he scored 80 on debut against Trichy and a century against Niligris playing for Salem Seniors. He scored a match winning century against the touring Chemplast in a tournament final in Salem. “Immediately, Vijayakumar extended an invitation to play for MCC in Madras along with prestigious membership” Ramaswamy told this writer.

He had a special liking for good bats and through his playing days, he used Duncan Fearnley, a dream for district cricketers in those days. He also used Gray Nichols and Gun & Moore.
Two good seasons got him into the Junior State team and he was set to make his debut when just ahead of the trip, he was struck with Jaundice and hospitalized. He recalls that moment “In those days, there were minimal opportunities for districts cricketers to showcase their talent. Getting into the Junior State team was the stepping stone to playing for the Senior State team. I had been in good form for two seasons and was confident of scaling the cricketing ladder. I nourished ambitions at that time of playing Ranji cricket for TN. But this (Jaundice) was a terrible blow and I lost a big opportunity to make the leap into the next level in cricket.”

“If I had played Junior cricket, my cricketing life could have changed but it was not to be.”

Unfortunately, a second blow in that phase ended his cricket career a year later. His elder brother died in a road accident and Ramaswamy had to manage the family restaurant business in Salem “The sudden death of my brother meant that I had to let go my cricketing ambitions and focus on our family business.’
He continued to play for Salem in the inter districts tourneys. He along with his brother had started a cricket club in the early 1970s and named it as Tiger CC after their all time favourite cricketer MAK ‘Tiger’ Pataudi. He captained Tiger CC to a first division title.

Sukumar who played his early cricket in Salem before moving to SVPB, Udumalpet was closely associated from the Salem days and recalls Ramaswamy from the 1970s “I knew Ramaswamy, his late elder brother Ramachandran and their family from my childhood. We played street cricket together. He would discuss a lot about the game and the leading players of the time.  He was very promising as a cricketer and knowledgeable in cricketing aspects. As a player, he played with a straight bat.”
By this time, there had been some interesting developments. His high cricketing passion led him into cricket administration even while he was playing and he was inducted into the executive committee of the Salem District Cricket Association. After his playing days, he went on to become the Secretary of the association, a position that he held for two decades. During his phase as the Secretary of SDCA, the AGM had been held every single year before the 31st of May.

A surprise call from the TNCA
Just ahead of the Pandemic, he got a call from former TNCA VP and CEO of CSK KS Viswanathan “I was in Salem and he asked me to come to the TNCA. I had been a convener of the Districts Secretaries forum and I assumed it was something to do with Districts cricket.”

When he landed in Madras, he was in for a surprise. N Srinivasan had been looking for a reliable and hardworking person as the Secretary, one who could keep the flock together. He invited Ramaswamy to be the Secretary "It was out of the blue, completely unexpected and took me by surprise. A huge responsibility had been bestowed on me. I was touched by the trust he had on my abilities.”

Ramaswamy became the first man from the Districts to don the role of the Secretary of the TNCA.

Appa’s life message comes into play
It was a hugely challenging task. At the time of taking over as the Secretary, Ramaswamy remembered the two life messages his appa had handed to him during his teenage years “Making money is incidental, be honest in everything you do. That’s the way we should live our life.” 

“Never hurt anyone in life” was the other message he received from his appa and that served well during his term as the Secretary of the TNCA. With so much revenue flowing into the TNCA, he knew it was a hot seat and a tricky position but managed to stay away from controversies. His people management skills came to the fore. He was clear in his approach “No one should point a finger at me in the way I discharged my duties and every single team mate should look forward to meeting me in the future long after I was gone from the post.” 

Big Moments
Three years went by in a flash especially with him having to manage during the Pandemic. During his term MAC B receive a complete facelift. Resting areas, rest rooms and permanent sight screen became a new feature at MAC B. All the wickets were re-laid. He worked closely with MCC to sort out some of the old issues. Getting them to agree on the demolition and reconstruction at Chepauk was a big achievement. The entire stadium will be repainted. A cricket museum, cafeteria and a super store is on the anvil. The VIP boxes will have a new look. A conducted tour of the ground will be an integral feature in the future.

Conducting back to back test matches at Chepauk during the Pandemic (something that had never been done earlier), organizing ten IPL matches with the highest safeguards for Covid and spreading TNPL to four new grounds gave him a great deal of satisfaction “We carried out over 8000 Covid tests and only one came out positive. ICC was so impressed with our bubble maintenance that they reached out to us to seek tips.”

KS Viswanathan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/02/ks-viswanathan-tnca-bcci-ipl.html) is all praise for the contribution of Ramaswamy in this challenging phase. He told this writer “As the Secretary, Ramaswamy was responsible for the reopening of the I, J and K stands after 8 years and major repair works were undertaken. The new stadium with a pavilion was constructed during his tenure. He was closely associated with the implementation of the 3rd phase of construction of the stadium which is almost complete.”
"He had good rapport with the BCCI officials and ensured a healthy relationship with them. He was a calm and an efficient Secretary. Most importantly, he was liked by all the members of the TNCA. Since he had completed 8 years in office bearers post he could not continue for the next term of 3 years."

Batting with Sourav
He says he was blessed to have had the opportunity to meet and interact with TN cricketing legends and the India cricketers during his term as the Secretary. Earlier this year, he played in an exhibition match between President’s XI and Secretary’s XI at the Motera Stadium “It was the first time I played under lights and with the white ball. It was a delight to bat alongside Sourav Ganguly and be involved in a good partnership.”

He also experienced playing at the iconic Eden Gardens.
Former Ranji off spinner and Secretary of MUC M Santosh Kumar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/06/m-santosh-kumar-iob-tn-ica.html) has been vocal at the TNCA meetings in recent times raising issues quite vociferously. He has seen several Secretaries in the TNCA during his 50+years in cricket and rates Ramaswamy among the best"He is a Gem of a person and a Gentlemen to the Core. He handled all the issues with a Smile. He showed extraordinary skill & ability to run the TNCA without any issues especially when there was no President for a while."

"I really felt happy to be associated with him in the Apex council. He gave me a free hand to talk about cricket development issues  and benefits to Cricketers & Support staff. He gave me a patient hearing. He approved without any hesitation the suggestion of a fee hike to Umpires and additional financial benefits to Selectors"
"I rate Ramaswamy as the best next to Kasi Viswanathan. He ran the show very meticulously and systematically and was a great administrator."

Districts Cricket Infrastructure
With an eye on improving the infrastructure in the districts, Ramaswamy roped in his big network in Salem to invest into a huge cricketing infrastructure on the outskirts of Salem. With just five phone calls, he got old Salem mates to invest in buying out the land for the Cricket Stadium. It was due to his initiative that the Salem Cricket Foundation was built on 22 acres of land, one with an 85 meters boundary. It is here that Super Kings Academy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/10/super-kings-academy-mega-expansion-plans.html) was launched earlier this summer “It was a big dream come true. We have invested in the best cricket equipment at the stadium. 300-400 cars can be parked.”

Already U19, U22 and city v districts matches have taken place here in addition to the TNPL matches.
He was a rank outsider and much against the odds was elevated to the post of Secretary of one of India’s most prestigious cricket associations. Aged 64, Ramaswamy has been involved with cricket administration for close to four decades without a break. When he steps down this Saturday (Nov 5), he would leave behind for his successors at the TNCA strong finances with all compliance issues sorted out that would allow them to focus on pure cricketing activities. His pet project -The Salem Cricket Foundation - will be his cricket connect in the immediate term. His big regret was the inability of the TN team to succeed in Ranji cricket. He has a parting message for the TNCA “We need to play the first division matches on neutral venues and have independent TNCA curators prepare the pitch. That will pave the way for success in Ranji cricket.”
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TNCA First Division League 2022-23

November 5, 2022, 2:43 am
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Sai Sudarshan stands tall in First Division Cricket, Ajith Ram stakes claim with consistent performance with the ball
Fast bowlers in short supply, Young batters fail to show consistency
Ahead of the new first division season, TNCA made a few significant changes. The top four playing the semi finals and the winners moving into the final was done away with. In an effort to get the players prepare themselves better for Ranji cricket, the two day format that existed for a few years was changed to the earlier three day matches. 5 points were on offer for first innings lead but only 6 points for an outright win. In fact, the outgoing Secretary of the TNCA RS Ramaswamy told this writer that he was keen on a four day format but that suggestion did not go through this season. There were to be six rounds of matches at the start of the season with a break of two days between each of the matches. This was to give the selectors a fair view of the players on offer. The first set of matches ended mid September with the players getting into the inter state T20 matches (TN failed to qualify for the knock outs though Coach Venkatramana expressed happiness at the performance and told this writer last evening that it was just one match that made the difference). Here is a look at how things have progressed after the first phase of the first division matches this season.

Sai Stands alone at the top
Jolly Rovers’ opener Sai Sudarshan was the stand out batsman in the first division not just with the amount of runs he has amassed but with the ease with which he taken on the opposition bowlers and dominated them. End of August, he scored a century before lunch in a 185 run opening stand with captain Kaushik Gandhi. When Jolly Rovers needed just under a hundred to beat MRC A, he dominated the chase and showed the form he was in. He then followed up with a double century stand with his captain with both scoring centuries again.  Sai ended the first phase of the league season with his third hundred. He stood tall far and above any other (local) batsman in the first division. His performance is sure to have sealed a place in the TN team in all the three formats (unfortunately he could not translate his rich vein of form into runs at the T20 level for TN last month). 
Chief of the Jolly Rovers cricket team and former India cricketer Bharath Reddy is pleased with his performance “Sai has done exceptionally well. His consistency augurs well for the state in the future.”

Kavin starts with a big double hundred
Opener R Kavin began the season with a big double hundred for Grand Slam. He continued his great start with consistent scores. Former TN and Goa all-rounder DJ Gokulakrishnan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/03/gokulakrishnan-j.html) is the mentor of Grand Slam. He is all praise for Kavin in the way he has played “By batting for over 130overs, he has shown that he has got unperturbed temperament. He has performed consistently for us and has stood out along with Sai Sudarshan amongst the batsmen in this phase in first division.”

PC Prakash, the newly appointed Head of the TNCA Academy, who has seen Kavin closely in age group cricket over the last few years, is pleased with the way he has begun to convert the starts into big knocks “He is extremely talented but failed to convert the 50s into bigger knocks earlier. Now he has realized the importance of big scores and his consistent performance over the last month should give him a lot of confidence.”
Apart from these two, there has not been great consistency from the younger lot in batting. Many centuries have been scored in these six rounds but consistent performance has been lacking.

Lack of depth in Bowling
Bowling has been a weak point for TN in the years gone by with the team lacking consistency in bowling out opposition twice. And this came to the forefront once again at the start of this season. There are plenty of left arm spinners on view but quality off spinners and leg spinners have been difficult to find as have been the fast bowlers. 

Like Sai Sudarshan in batting, Globe Trotters’s Ajith Ram has been the one stand out player in bowling picking up 42 wickets. His star turn with the ball helped his club to two outright wins. 

S Suresh (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/11/sweety-s-suresh-tn-ranji-finals-captain.html) under whose captaincy TN reached the Ranji twice in successive years is the mentor at Vijay CC. He is not happy with what he has seen on the bowling front “For a few years, the bowlers had got used to a defensive style of bowling based on the two day format. They are taking time to adapt to the requirements of three day cricket. The attacking mindset in bowling has not yet happened in the first round of matches. Some of them have been good in patches but consistency in bowling is what is required.”

He says the odd five wicket hauls won’t work. Bowlers need to be more consistent in taking wickets. “The wicket taking art is unfortunately going away and that is not good news.”

Prakash (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/04/pc-prakash-tn-ranji-1980s.html) is keen to see a fully fit Aswin Crist make a comeback into the TN team “He is a genuine fast bowler who has to walk into the state side if he is fully fit. When fast bowlers are in short supply, a fit again Crist will make a big difference to the squad especially if we are going to play Ranji cricket on non-spinner friendly wickets across the country.”

The All- rounder spot
With Vijay Sankar out through injury, J Kousik of Vijay CC has it in to take the all-rounder’s spot “Every time he bowled he provided a break through. In batting, he could anchor or hit and hence is one for all situations” says Seasoned umpire D Dharmaseelan, who umpired all the rounds in this first phase.

Not Graduating to the next level
Three left handers Vishal Vaidhya, Vimal Khumar and Anchit D had held big potential as teenagers. At the age group level, they were seen as those who had it in them to make it big at the state level. Unfortunately all three have not done enough to convert their potential into runs at the first division.

Anchit scored a century at the start of the season but he had already decided to head to Australia for higher studies putting an end to his serious playing interests. Vimal Khumar has been handed the responsibility of captaincy of Alwarpet but has failed quite badly with the bat while the team is also languishing near the bottom of the table. 

For a decade, Vishal Vaidhya had been under the watchful eyes of late VB Chandrasekar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/01/vb-chandrasekar.html). He was quite successful at the age group level but has somehow not been able get the big runs to catch the eye of the selectors. Earlier this year, in the final rounds of league matches of the 2021-22 season, captaining UFCC he was in scintillating form, scoring two hundreds and missing out narrowly on two more.  Just when one thought he was finally making it count, he has had a miserable first phase this new season though he did come up with a big century in the final match of the first phase. And then made quite a few good scores in the first division one day tourney that followed. He will have to make bigger scores and more consistently when it really counts to catch the eyes of the selectors, again. This section will watch out for him in the 2nd phase of the league for that could be an important set of matches as age is not on his side.

Prakash has watched both Vimal and Vishal very closely for almost a decade and is puzzled at their inability to show consistency “Vishal had a great end to the league last season and one expected him to continue that form into the new season. Even if under pressure, batting at No. 4 is a great opportunity for him to showcase his skills but his lack of consistency is puzzling. Vimal definitely had it in him to take his game to the next level but he too is struggling like Vishal. Others like Lokeshwar, Swaminathan and Radhakrishnan too have failed to graduate into the next level in cricket and have not been able to translate potential into performance.”

Three Day Format
While square turners have meant a quick end to some of the matches, there have been several matches where teams have batted past the 100 overs mark. The three day format has helped in testing the temperament of the batsmen but only a couple of them have been able to show consistency. This format should have helped bowlers bowl to attacking fields unlike the previous couple of years. But except on square turners the attacking mindset has been absent.

Bharath Reddy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/11/bharath-reddy-players-man.html) while applauding the decision to move into a three day format is not pleased with the decision to take away the Semi Finals and Final “It will make for one sided contests with teams going for the kill in certain matches with ‘square turners’ or ‘green tops’.”

This was on view when India Pistons bowled out MCC on the first morning of the match (State Selector S Vasudevan was seen fuming after watching the entire first session at India Pistons) and MRF bowled out UFCC almost twice on the first day. 

However, Gokulakrishnan has a different view on this “Teams have eleven matches to showcase their skills. It is fine for the top team after 11 matches to be crowned as the champion.” Any way that had been the model for many decades.

The Disappointments
From a Ranji selection point of view, the first six rounds have not thrown up any special off spinner, leg spinner or fast bowler. Despite the opportunity for each of the batsmen to play really long innings (especially on non turning tracks), the selectors may not have had new names challenging the existing lot. And both these have proved to be disappointing at the end of the first phase of the first division this season. In Ajith Ram’s case, with Sai Kishore and M Siddharth as the lead spinners, it may be difficult for the selectors to get him in as the third left arm spinner despite his extraordinary performances in the first phase of the league season.

Those to watch out for
While some of the teenagers of yesteryears have failed to graduate to the next level, there are a few who are beginning to show glimpses of their talent. Globe Trotters’ Ajitesh (he has been selected for the T20s) is one who certainly holds potential. Dharmaseelan sees him as a special talent “He is one batsman who has it in him to go high up in cricket. He has all the shots in the book especially in the shorter version.”

Sonu Yadav is very talented, has got runs and bowled well. He is really quick as a bowler and that the state should look to groom him for the future. Sanjay Yadav has got ‘attacking’ runs and taken wickets.

TN U19 quick MRC A’s V.P. Dhiran is a fast bowling talent that can be nurtured. The team’s coach Guru Kedarnath, who is also the state U25 asst coach, says that it is a challenge for all fast bowlers in the city in the first division league as they come up on slow wickets “It would be worth the while to see how he performs on quicker wickets when he goes around the country for the U19 matches.”

Former RBI opener S Ramesh is now the mentor at Nelson, a team that has a surprise presence in the top 4 at the end of phase 1. He says that Mohit Hariharan is one to be watched out for. He has  been impressive scoring over 400runs.

Among other batsmen, Guru Raghavendra and Mohammed Ali showed glimpses of what they are capable with big hundreds and it would be interesting to see how they perform in the second half of the league season.
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Ashok Sigamani TNCA President

November 8, 2022, 4:53 am
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The soft spoken 'No-Nonsense' Doctor from Villupuram is serious about his role at the TNCA and sees himself making a significant contribution to TN Cricket in the next three years
Improving Cricket Infrastructure, Developing cricket in the Districts will be top priority; Will be open to constructive criticisms and 'Cricketing Growth' ideas from anyone – Ashok Sigamani
In 1989, a young 13year old boy from Villupuram took YMCA (Nandanam) by storm. In the summer camp, he emerged as the best all rounder. As an opening batsman, he sent the ball out of the ground every time play was called. He had grown up in the open rough fields of Villupuram playing Cork ball cricket against opening bowlers who were real quick and awkward to face. From those early days, he has always been fearless be it on the cricket field or outside. Beneath the soft spoken demeanour is a tough personality who always speaks his mind. A teammate of this writer, he had his cricketing lessons at YMCA TSR (Advocate TS Ramaswamy) and made waves at the club. He smashed centuries at the schools tournaments and made his way into the U16 state but his amma took a serious academics call and led him back to Villupuram much against his wishes so he could get into Medicine.  Three decades later, the doctor from Villupuram is now at the helm of affairs at the TNCA and is confident of making a significant contribution to cricket development in the state. Here's the story.

Cork Ball cricket in Villupuram
Ashok Sigamani spent his first dozen years in hometown in Villupuram playing volleyball and a lot of cork ball and rubber ball cricket.  He lived in a big joint family that was full of doctors (there are over 40 of them now). The message from his appa Ponmudi, who himself has a Triple MA and a P.hd, was for him to focus on education though he did encourage sports. Ashok Sigamani looks back at his early initiation into sports “My appa was a good ball badminton player and I used to go with him to watch him play. I was also into Volley ball which was popular in Villupuram in those days. The fearless approach in my cricket was ignited while playing cork ball cricket and having to face some real quick bowlers like Murugesan (they called him Patrick Patterson of Villupuram) without gloves and pads. Even as a 10year old, I took on the college fast ball bowlers in Villupuram and struck them boldly.”

Appa's Minister roles get Ashok into Madras and serious cricket
Ponmudi had a special liking for history and taught the subject in Villupuram. When he had to contest the elections, he quit the teaching job at the Government Arts College, won the election and immediately landed the post of the health minister. This prompted the move to Madras in 1989 and transformed Ashok Sigamani into a dashing opener. That summer, his grandfather, a retired head master from Villupuram, put him in the summer camp at YMCA run by Santhanam. His transition from Brown ball to Red Ball was swift. He made a lasting impression taking YMCA by storm. While Mujib (Gandhinagar Starlets) was hitting out in the YMCA B Ground, Ashok Sigamani sent the opposition bowlers out of  sight with hits that went out of the stadium. In the practice matches, he emerged as the highest run getter and picked up the best all-rounder award (he opened the batting and bowling in those early days). 
Soon advocate TS Ramaswamy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/08/advocate-ts-ramaswamy90.html) who was passionate about cricket and had a special eye in spotting talent picked up Ashok for the YMCA TSR Club at the end of that summer camp. And he had three successful years in cricket. All his life TSR liked cricketers who had a strong mind and were fearless. He would often remark to the budding cricketers to not fear the opposition based on the big names that they possessed and the fearless approach of Ashok kindled his special interest in the 13year old boy. TSR is now 91 years old but his memory of Ashok Sigamani is razor sharp "He did not care who the opposition was. He had a strong and clear mind. Even in those days, he played shots like T20 matches. If the ball was there to be hit, he would hit the first ball out of the ground. He played bold shots in those days that Suryakumar Yadav plays now.”

Becomes a Wicket Keeper
When a regular keeper was injured at the U13 selection trials, former state wicket keeper T Doraiappan handed him the gloves as a standby "When he saw me keep for about 20overs, he was impressed and signed me up immediately for his league team (Nungambakkam) in the 5th division as a wicket keeper. And with that I became a wicket keeper batsman.”

Always Smiling and Warm
Ashok Sigamani scored three centuries in the schools tournament and he was soon drafted into the u16 State side alongside Hemang Badani. The former India Cricketer remembers Ashok as a good striker of the ball and a very 'effervescent' kid "The thing that stood out to me was that even as a teenager, he was always smiling and warm.' 
At the YMCA TSR Club, he opened with S Badrinath in the All India Canopy tournament in Bangalore with both batting in completely contrasting styles “I would smash a half century in 25balls and get out while Badri (he carried this patience into Ranji cricket) would bat through the innings in a rock solid manner.”

"I took a lot of inspiration from YMCA TSR Seniors winning the national tournament in Bangalore and we juniors went on to win the tourney soon after. Those years at YMCA TSR were the best moments of my cricketing life. It was thoroughly enjoyable with TSR being a real motivational spirit. Even after I became the President, the immediate message from both my amma and appa was to seek the blessings of TSR for he was the one who made me the cricketer I was.”

TS Ramaswamy is delighted that the teenager who started his cricket at his club is now donning the prestigious role of the President at a reputed cricket association in the country. remembers his knocks in Bangalore "It was over 30 years ago. His amma came to me on the eve of the Bangalore Canopy tournament and asked me to take care of him. She was not aware of what a 'cricketing man' he already was. He was not yet 16 and yet one of the sixers landed on the road that left the opposition stunned. When the typical message of the time was to see off the new ball and let the ball go to the keeper, Ashok played without inhibition and put the opposition on the backfoot right at the start of the innings.  It was always refreshing to see fearless cricket being played and Ashok exemplified that. They had not seen this kind of power hitting from a young boy."

Explosive Batsman
St Michaels comprising of Vijay (Dr. Natarajan’s son), Husaifa and Arumugam, beat a fancied Don Bosco in the semifinals and was only beaten by Santhome in the final. In that phase, Ashok also featured in the TNCA Junior Colts team, a result of his strong performances in the league. 

Leggie Sanjay Natarajan who was an integral part of the school team has been the logistics manager of CSK for the last ten years. Recalling the school days and confirming the above batting approach, Sanjay says Ashok surprised the team members with his appetite for runs "We had heard that he had made a lot of runs for YMCA TSR but when he came into the school team he was a new boy and all of us wondered as to who this guy was and how he would contribute to the team's cause. Very soon, he showed what a cricketer he was. There were not too many explosive cricketers in those days but Ashok was one. He would play shots all around the wicket. He was ahead of his time and even played the slog sweep of fast bowlers. To balls pitched on off and middle, he would just move across and hoist over the leg field into the boundary. He had a big appetite for runs and scored a lot for the school in those three years."

Bang Bang cricket at the Canopy Tourney
M Krishna (Shukkal to those in the cricketing circles) was an off spinner and nephew of former TNCA VP Ramesh (Free Lancers) and now performs service at the Varadaraja Perumal Divya Desam in Kanchipuram. He played for three years alongside Ashok Sigamani at the YMCA TSR Club and was also part of the tournament winning team in Bangalore "The way he hit out at a top notch Bengal team and drove them to pieces is still afresh in my memory. Once he got going, he was unstoppable and more often than not gave us a great start in that national tournament." 
Ashok Sigamani was having a dream run and his cricket was looking up in that phase. He dreamt of higher laurels and was all set to graduate into the next level in cricket when his amma Visalakshi asked him to pack off his cricketing kit and head back to Villupuram “My anna was into medicine and I was asked to follow in his footsteps. As an obedient son, I went back to my hometown and did not touch the cricket bat for a year.”

Amma's convincing push to Medicine
A year later, his passion for cricket came back and he was all set to join an Engineering College in Madras on sports quota. He landed up in the city to pay the fees when he found his amma too had made the trip from Villupuram the night before ‘The unique reason she gave me stumped me. When my doctor anna gets married, there would be questions from prospective (bride) families as to why the second son did not take to medicine and is only an Engineer. I was only 17 at the time and marriage was at least a decade away. I had smashed many a bowler on the field in the previous years but I had no answer to this googly from my amma. I had hoped to continue my cricket career while doing my engineering in the city. It was heart breaking and cried a lot that evening impressing upon her my interest to pursue my cricketing passion but she put sense into me and her push led me into medicine at the Annamalai University in Chidambaram. As I look back into that phase, I really owe it to my amma for that important drive that evening in my Periappa's home in Saidapet.”

South Zone University 
Ashok still had a bit of serious cricket left. In the first year at college, the runs he amassed got him on to the University's Honours Board as the highest run getter. He became a cricketing hero in Chidambaram in the way he batted at the top of the innings and everyone looked up to his brand of cricket. He went to Tirunelveli for the inter University tournament and began with a bang. A century in the tournament opener followed by two half centuries got him into the Vizzy Trophy squad and once again his cricketing dreams came back.

Cricket Retirement at 18!!!
However, there was not good news back at the Annamalai University. He had been away from college for a few months and that meant he was left behind in academics. There was attendance deficiency. Once again he received a stern message from his amma “For the second time in two years, my amma (she was everything to me and the entire joint family) asked me once again to shut the ‘cricketing shop’ and focus on studies. His intent was on me coming out in flying colours as a doctor. And this time without any tears, I quietly followed the instructions of my amma and ‘retired’ from serious cricket.”
He continued to play local cricket during the next four years. In Villupuram, he smashed a record breaking 190 in a league match in the late 1990s. He also hit a century in the then popular St. Peters tournament that was held every summer in Kodaikanal. When he came to Madras for his Post Grad at Ramachandra Medical College, the beautiful ground enticed him back into cricket and he got to playing in the TNCA league starting with CUC and then moving on to many other clubs. 

Into Districts Cricket Administration
Just over a decade ago, he got into cricket administration taking up the post of Secretary of the Villlupuram Districts association. From less than 10 teams in the league there, he took it up to 20 and then to 30 teams. More cricketers have begun to emerge from Villupuram in recent years that has particularly pleasing for Ashok.
 
Nonagenarian TS Ramaswamy is delighted that the teenager who started his cricket at his club way back in the late 1980s is now donning the prestigious role of the President at a reputed cricket association in the country "He played cricket from his heart and I am sure he will do the same in this new role as the President. I am confident that at the end of three years, he would have made a big contribution to TN cricket that will make me proud."

At 46, Ashok Sigamani looks physically fit and mentally energised. He sweats it out every evening at the shuttle court, arising out of his new interest in shuttle. To encourage sportspeople outside of cricket, he has also taken up a team in the TN shuttle league. On the playing front, he continues to feature in league cricket (30overs 6th division league) as well as inter club T20 cricket both of which suit his style of play. Over the last few years, he has also anchored a team in the Doctor’s cricket league in the state and took the Ramachandra College Doctors into the finals of the tournament. He then formed Trichy Tyrants and led them to victory in the national tournament of the Doctors league. 

A 'No- Nonsense' guy
Ashok Sigamani is serious about his role as the President of the TNCA. He wears cricket in his sleeve and has been associated . Even into his mid 40s, he has gone around the city playing league cricket in faraway grounds such as STAG, Venkateswara College, Murugappa and in Porur. This has given him insights into the ground conditions and is fully aware of the short comings. Like with his batting in the early 1990s, he is clear about the way he will operate over the next three years. All those who have seen him from close quarters will know that he is a 'No Nonsense' guy. He has never been ambiguous in his approach right from the way he batted at the start of the innings and says that 'Growth of Cricket' in TN will be his top priority.  Of Course, once again as has been the case for a long time winning Ranji Cricket is on the agenda but for that to happen a lot of things have to change.
RBI off spinner from the 1980s NS Ramesh was Ashok Sigamani's coach at YMCA TSR and went on those trips to Bangalore. He is all praise for Ashok's conduct even as a teenager "Inspite of being  a minister's son, I could never detect even an iota of arrogance in him. He was always grounded. While he was a very good player at that age, the human side of Ashok was particularly touching. He was a nice chap and always very respectful. He was symbolic of how even the most powerful can conduct themselves with utmost humility."

That soft spoken and respectful characteristic of Ashok is still in tact three decades later. Those qualities have just not changed. Ashok looks back at the philosophical message from his appa from his teenage years that has helped him remain grounded “Never do wrong to others and Never hurt others. Money may come and go, power may come and go but earning the 'real respect' is something that will hold you in good stead for a lifetime.” And this is reflected in the way Ashok converses with everyone. 

Developmental Intent
He is keen to convert as many matting wickets in the city into turf wickets as possible in the next three years. Also on his agenda is expanding the TNCA Academy into the districts “I want to take the academy into as many remote locations in the state as possible. I would also like to set up satellite centers in the outskirts of the city so those in the neighbourhood can experience the best of the coaches and facilities close to their homes.”

Open to constructive criticism
Social media messages soon after his appointment pointed to Chepauk becoming home to Jallikattu in the current political regime. There is also likely to be issues relating to naming the newly constructed stadium. Ashok Sigamani says that he is fully aware of criticisms coming his way "Everyone who has known me in the last few decades know how far away I am from politics. Yes, I am proud to be the son of a minister but my role at the TNCA will be of one who has played cricket for three decades and one who has been passionate about the game all through my life. Every move will reflect in my caring for the development of TN cricket. ”

He says he is keen to listen to others' views and implement when there are constructive developmental ideas. He told this writer that on the immediate front he is looking to be part of all the meetings at the TNCA in the coming months so he has an ear to the ground. 

It is heartening to hear that he is open to strong criticisms and negative feedback from anyone on developmental initiatives "I see this as a sport in the same way I experienced it when I first picked the bat at YMCA all those decades ago and I will do everything in my armory to develop cricket in Tamil Nadu. ‘I welcome criticism from anyone as long as it is constructive and for the betterment of cricket in the state. You will see me being receptive to it. Let me know if I swerve from this” says Ashok Sigamani in as straight a way as when his bat came thudding down on the opposition fast bowler and had the ball racing to the fence behind the bowler. 
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Sriram Krishnamurthy Head Coach Super Kings Academy

November 11, 2022, 11:47 am
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A Decade after - His Passionate Chennai Cricket Dream comes true
The 36 year old High Performance Coach will return to his home state in January after quitting his coaching role at Northern Districts
Sriram was responsible for the emergence of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra 
Exactly a decade ago this section featured a story on the opportunity for the ruling management at the TNCA to grab the services of Sriram Krishnamurthy, then a young 26 year old high performance coach who was passionate about TN cricket and wanted to make a difference here (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2012/05/high-performance-coaching-is-tnca.html?m=1).  His services were not sought then and with a tinge of sadness, he went around the cricketing world coaching in Australia, England and New Zealand for 10 years. In June this year, this section featured a story just ahead of the TNPL on how success with the Madurai team could elicit interest in TN and get him back to his home state that he has all along been longing for. In the league phase that he was here just ahead of the New Zealand pre-season practice, he helped the Madurai team win all at sight in the TNPL with the team racing through to the knock outs (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/06/sriram-krishnamurthy-high-performance.html). He headed back to the Kiwi land just ahead of the knock out phase. And soon he had the Super Kings Academy knocking on his doors. Very quickly, Sriram's coaching model resonated well with George John, the operations head at Super Kings Academy responsible for its expansion and they( the academy) did not have to look too far and have signed him up. Sriram has just been appointed as the Head Coach of Super Kings Academy, a coveted role especially with the academy planning mega national expansion over the next five years (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/10/super-kings-academy-mega-expansion-plans.html).

Sriram will be responsible for establishing a consistent cricket program, leading and mentoring the coaches at the Super Kings Academy. He is particularly pleased with the fact that the academy is handing him a free reign “They literally said it's your baby - which is exciting  to have that kind of freedom in coaching. At the same time, it puts a lot of responsibility on me” Sriram told this writer from Hamilton. Even in 2012, Sriram had looked at coaching as one of responsibility and not  of power.

When the TNCA did not elicit interest in his services a decade ago, Sriram went to Australia and coached teams at the state level in Victoria and South Australia. On the invitation of The English and Wales Cricket Board, he was involved in a High Performance Coaching related work ahead of the 2010-11 Ashes. In 2015, he moved to New Zealand starting out as the U19 coach at Cricket Wellington and five years later became the batting coach of the Wellington Firebirds, one of the six first class teams in the country. At Wellington, Sriram had played a key role in the transformation of Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra into international cricketers. In recent years, as the coach of Northern Districts, he has been working with the Who's Who of NZ cricket including Williamson, Southee, Boult, Sodhi, Wagner, De Grandhomme and Santner.

Grateful to New Zealand Cricket
Only recently, Sriram had been offered the prestigious coaching role of the New Zealand’s National Women’s team but he did not take it up. While he was well settled in the Kiwi Land, his heart had always been in Madras and in every conversation with this writer over the last decade, he had expressed interest to return to Madras and make a difference to TN cricket. With his long overseas stint coming to an end in a couple of months, Sriram looks back with great delight on his engagement with the Kiwis "By nature, the  Kiwis are very kind. To me, they  have been a very helpful lot. When I was looking for financial stability, Cricket Wellington directed me to Taita CC as an additional engagement that served me well and kept me going in those initial years. Dave (Gillespie) immediately got my wife a job soon after her arrival in New Zealand. And that made a big difference to our lives on the financial front. My engagement with Rachin and Devon has been like one of family and we constantly discussed cricket and ways to improve."

Composed Individual and A Captain's Delight
International umpire Madanagopal led Grand Slam to a surprise first division championship with Sriram playing an important role in the middle order that year. Madan was the one who gave Sriram the 1st division break well over a decade ago. He has high words of praise for Sriram’s team spirit “I found Sriram to be a remarkable team man. He was hard working, committed and had a positive impact on players and people around him. What was particularly impressive of him in that phase was that he was a very composed individual and a captain’s delight."
Madan says that he is confident that Sriram will now be a player’s delight as a coach. "He strongly believes in understanding the player and his requirements and gives his best in helping and facilitating that to help the player to achieve his true potential."

A sparkling innocence about Sriram
In a competitive world where one finds 'win at all cost' approach from many of the modern day cricketers, Sriram has a certain old world charm about him and a bit of sparkling innocence that one does not find enough these days. RBI middle order bat and off spinner from the 1980s NS Ramesh has known Sriram from his childhood days as his amma was a colleague at RBI. He is happy that Sriram has been able to maintain that innocence within him “Sriram has always been a very sweet chap with a streak of innocence. Like his mother, Sriram is sincere in whatever he does.”

'Good at Heart', Genuine and Honest Guy
Sriram helped former first division cricketer turned coach Guru Kedarnath find his feet in Australia just under a decade ago. Kedar recalls Sriram from the school days “we played against each other in the schools tourneys and together for city at the age group level. It was when he coached us at Aruna CC that I came to know him well. The most standout feature in him is that he is genuine and honest in his engagement.”
“When Precision pulled out of cricket sponsorship, I was in a fix on ‘what next’ in my career. It was Sriram who went out of his way and helped with a coaching engagement in Australia. My initiation into coaching was through him and I had an enjoyable four summers there. I have always looked up to him for his insights on coaching.”

"He is very practical and clear in his thought process. Most importantly, he is good at heart, a quality that is ingrained in him."

Excited to be back
Sriram will be reaching Madras in January and starting mid Jan will get down to try and make a difference to the next generation of cricketers. He told this writer on Saturday morning (Kiwi time) that he is excited with the prospect of coaching in Madras "I am excited with this opportunity that India Cements has provided me but this is also a huge responsibility.  While this can give me a good break from coaching elite teams and having had to deal with the constant stress and pressure of winning and losing matches (performance), it is an even bigger responsibility now - as this role gives me the ability to influence and shape the way the academy can function, putting and taking an approach where there is balance in these young kids lives, making them understand how to get the best out of themselves not just within cricket, but beyond it."

 "To come back to my home state and get this opportunity to develop young cricketers is another of way of realising my passion, which is to see a strong Tamil Nadu team in domestic cricket."

Having known him for over a decade, it would not be a surprise if he creates the next Conways and Ravindras of TN cricket in the coming years.

This section wishes him the Best in his comeback stint in Madras.
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Sadashiv Iyer Vidarbha Ranji BCCI Umpire

November 18, 2022, 2:10 am
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'Gangaikondan' cricketer now aims big in Umpiring
A football and hockey goal keeper in his school days, he chose to follow in his appa’s footsteps and became a wicket keeper. With not much facilities in Nagpur, he moved to Bombay for summer coaching that proved transformational.  He came back a better player and was soon picked in the Vidarbha Ranji squad. In his very first match, he starred with two knocks that brought him into immediate limelight. In the summer of 1995, he shone with the bat in the YSCA tournament in Madras and was spotted by Dr. Natarajan and picked by India Cements that was making its way back into first division cricket in a big way that decade. He played over 20 Ranji matches for Vidarbha and shone for India Cements for a decade. Soon after retirement, he joined Madanagopal and Ananthapadmanabhan as BCCI umpires. On his appa's 78th birthday this year, he made his umpiring debut in IPL 16years after turning an umpire and now has hopes of making it big in Umpiring. Here’s the story.

From Gangaikondan to Nagpur
The forefathers of GR Sadashiv Iyer (Saddy to his teammates) hailed from Gangaikondan near Tirunelveli. His Grandfather moved to away from his home pre independence to Burma and later retired as depot in charge of India Super Tyre in Nagpur. As a young school boy, Sadashiv Iyer would accompany his grandfather to watch the net practice sessions of RBI Nagpur for whom his appa Ramasubramanian played. His early interest though was not in cricket but Football and Hockey. In both these sports, he was a goal keeper. It was only when he played in intra school matches that he captured the attention of the school’s Physical Trainer who roped him into the school team but he did not play much of junior age group cricket for Vidarbha. He did do well for GS college in the inter college tourney and played University cricket for Nagpur. 
His interest during his college days led him to ask his appa to take him to Bombay for summer coaching so he could play on turf wickets and improve his game. Sadashiv recalls that summer of 1990 in Bombay “There were only matting wickets in Nagpur and I wanted to practice on Turf. My transformation in cricket happened when I came under the tutorship of Anna Vaidhya in Bombay. I practiced hard under him for three months that summer and returned to Nagpur a more confident cricketer.”

The next summer was a big leap in cricket as he got the opportunity to play in the Kanga league qualifier. He scored a century in just over 20overs in a 50 over match and his coach’s reaction at the end of the day’s play was an eye opener. Sadashiv Iyer recalls the great lesson he learned from his coach that day “Though I helped the team win, my coach did not say one positive word. Instead he expressed unhappiness at me getting out before the half way mark and missing out on a double century. It was an eye opener. Those in Bombay always focused on converting starts into big hundreds. I realized that day that it was not enough to just play to the gallery.”

Ranji Debut- A boundary of his first ball
In 1992, he scored around 1000 runs in the local league. Following that he scored big in the Bapuna Cup, the selection tourney for Ranji Trophy and was the 2nd highest run getter. His performances led to his selection in the Ranji squad at the start of the 1993-94 season. He had a great start to his Ranji career helping Vidarbha stave off defeat against UP. He recalls the great gesture from his teammate on the morning of the match “The bat with which I scored all those runs to gain entry into Ranji Trophy broke in practice on the eve of my debut. I was almost in tears when my team mate Manish Doshi (who later captained Vidarbha) handed his Vampire bat for me to use. It is those moments in life that remind you of true friends in life”

Sadashiv straight drove his first ball in Ranji cricket off the then India prospect AW Zaidi for four. After scoring 40 in the first innings, he played a match saving innings of 89 in the second (innings) batting for almost a day, remembering the advice of Anna Vaidhya to not give away his wicket easily  “It immediately brought me into limelight as a batsman who could smash the ball at the start of the innings and also played a long innings.”

Ranji Cricketers in the early 1990s!!!
Cricket was so different in that early phase in Ranji, something that would be difficult for the new gen to visualize “All the Ranji team members in the early 1990s slept near the toilet in an unreserved compartment in train while travelling for a Ranji match. For another match we travelled by bus to Indore. These trips provided great bonding opportunities within the squad and we became a stronger unit and played for each other” recalls Saddy of his early Ranji days.

Dr Natarajan spots him 
A year later, when he played in the Paradip tourney for JN Port Trust, the Chennai Port Trust were impressed with his batting display and offered him a job in Chennai. That summer in the YSCA Trophy tournament, playing for Chennai Port Trust, he scored close to 200 runs in four matches. The innings that turnaround his cricketing career was the match against India Cements. Facing the then TN fast bowlers Gokulakrishnan and Devanand, he scored 40 at the start of the innings “Dr. Natarajan watched me bat and asked if I could join them. It had been only a month since I had joined the Chennai Port Trust but I could simply not refuse this irresistible offer from India Cements.”


VBC's Mentoring
Saddy credits the late VB Chandrasekar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/01/vb-chandrasekar.html) for having a great positive impact on his batting “VBC was terrific on the finer aspects of batting. From my grip to the stance, he made minor adjustments that helped me a great deal. I also learned the never say die attitude from him. It was a golden period for me in cricket playing alongside Gokulakrishnan, S Suresh and other teammates at India Cements. Through that decade, we always fought till the very end in every match. One of the best memories of my stint has been the great friendship I have forged with many of my teammates from that phase.”

Former TN and Goa all rounder Gokulakrishnan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/03/gokulakrishnan-j.html) says that though Saddy played all his early competitive cricket in the Central Zone he adapted well to the TN ecosystem and mingled well with all the teammates. "He was a talented batsman and an effective wicket keeper and he was a good contributor to India Cements. A special feature of Saddy is that he has been blessed with a helping tendency."

'ATG' S Sharath (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/12/sharath-s-tn-crickets-atg.html) who played first division cricket alongside Sadashiv Iyer at the turn of the century after he joined India Cements endorses Gokul's view "While he was a stroke filled batsman who always looked for runs and made useful contributions for India Cements, a standout feature of Iyer is his helpful nature. An hyperactive guy who does not sit in one place, he is always looking to help people out of the way."

In his early days in Madras, he missed the North India food that he had grown up with and would often go to the Gujarati Mandal in Parrys Corner to get a taste of the food back home. His other favourite hangout was the now non existent Bombay Halwa House opposite Vidya Mandir School.

Fails to make the Zonal leap
After spending the summer and early part of the 1st division league season in Madras, he would go back to Nagpur for the Ranji Trophy matches every year through the second half of the1990s. He recalls as to how he just missed making it to the next phase in cricket “After my first season in Ranji cricket, I was in the stand by in Duleep Trophy for Central Zone but did not get into the squad. Had I played Zonal cricket that year when I was in top form, my cricket may have taken a different turn but it was not to be. By the third year, I came to be positioned as a one day specialist."

A Keeping Record
In January 1995, against MP in Bhilai, he created a one day record of six dismissals as a wicket keeper including five stumpings. End of 1997, he created another keeping record in Ranji cricket with seven catches in one innings against UP in Allahabad. He looks back with a great deal of satisfaction about these two achievements. With the team looking to him for good starts in one day cricket, Sadashiv'a attention turned to the 50over format in the 2nd half of the 1990s and he answered them with some terrific one day knocks . One of Sadashiv's best innings in domestic one day cricket came in the match against Chandrakant Pandit’s MP when his rollicking half century helped chase out a big target.

Former TN Ranji captain and opening batsman S Suresh (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/11/sweety-s-suresh-tn-ranji-finals-captain.html) was Sadashiv's captain at India Cements and the two played a number of matches together opening the batting. He recalls Saddy as an attacking batsman and a very agile wicket keeper. 

Kerala leg spinner from the 1990s and now an international umpire KN Ananthapadmanabhan 
(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/09/ananthapadmanabhan-kn.html) played against Sadashiv through that phase “He was a busy batsman and scored runs in crunch situations and at a brisk pace. He was a very safe wicket keeper who worked hard on his fitness.”

He played close to 25 matches for Vidarbha. He wanted to continue to be associated with the game and having watched the game closely for a decade as a first class cricketer, he felt that umpiring would give an opportunity to watch top players in action. Along with Ranji cricketers KN Ananthapadmanabhan and JR Madanagopal, he took to umpiring in 2006 and has been officiating now for 16years.

His Biggest moment in Cricket
On April 15 this year, on the occasion of his appa’s 78th birthday, he made his on-field umpiring debut in IPL “My appa encouraged me a lot in my sporting activities right from my childhood. It was the best gift I could give him on his birthday. He was all charged up watching me take the field in an IPL match. I realized the global impact of IPL when all my school mates now spread all over the world watched the match and sent me messages. IPL helped me connect with school friends after almost four decades”, he says with great delight.
It has also given him an opportunity to mingle with the legends of Indian cricket as well as the best of the Indian and Overseas players.

He had received an offer from the Railways soon after he graduated in the 1990s but he did not take it up. He looks back at his engagement with India Cements with great pride. "I may have been a class IV staffer in the Railways but having decided to take the job at India Cements, it has been a dream run in the last 27 years for they have taken care of me in a way I could not have visualized especially for someone who left his hometown as a 23year old.”
Wife's Support
Since the time he became an umpire, he has been travelling extensively across the country. It was the time his wife quit her financial services job sacrificing her corporate career growth to take care of the family. It is something Sadashiv says he is indebted to "My wife has had a big role in my progress as an umpire. She has ensured the family is taken care of back home in Chennai leaving my mind free to focus on umpiring." 
Third Gen Wicket Keeper
Sadashiv's son, Sarthak, too has taken to cricket and wicket keeping. "One of the first things he asked for as a child was wicket keeping gloves. He has developed big interest in keeping and is always seen with the gloves" says Sadashiv.

Appa's Message
He had to wait for a long time to make his IPL debut. When the IPL opportunity did not come easy, he remembered the message from his appa that he had handed out when Sadhashiv was a young boy 'Hard work will never go waste. It will be recognized for sure in your lifetime' is what he told me. 

Sadashiv says that all times, especially during the challenging ones, he follows this message of his appa "I always stick to processes and look to give my best in everything I do with the belief that recognition will come my way when it has to.”
Ananthapadmanabhan who has been an umpire in the IPL for a few years says that Sadashiv Iyer is an excellent umpire and a good team man to have on field.

JR Madanagopal (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2016/10/madanagopal-j.html) has been umpiring BCCI matches alongside Sadashiv over the last 15years. The two also played for a third division team together and helped in its promotion to the second. Madan says Sadashiv is a great team mate, very helpful and a friendly and warm personality.

Umpiring Goals
Sadashiv Iyer has set for himself some interesting goals in umpiring - to umpire in one new venue every year, to do a few games every season with a new partner and to officiate in a match in North India in freezing conditions in Dec- Jan.

He had quite a satisfying career as a player both for Vidarbha and India Cements at the club level. Having now experienced IPL as an umpire, Sadashiv Iyer is looking forward to scaling greater heights in his second innings in cricket in the years to come.
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TN Opener KR Rajagopal passes away

November 18, 2022, 10:31 pm
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Seven months after his ‘best friend’ N Sankar passed away and a day ahead of Sankar’s birthday, the TN batting legend breathed his last on Friday morning 
It was a tame end on Friday morning to one of Tamil Nadu’s greatest opening batsman, KR Rajagopal. Once swarmed by thousands of fans where ever he played, his final years were quite lonely. His health had taken a drastic downturn after the passing away of his wife and he had become almost unrecognizable from the  man who had cheerfully attended Jolly Rovers' 50 years event in Madras. In the last 18months, he missed people around him, especially his family members. A very close friend of his at India Cements Baradwaj (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/12/bharadwaj-k-jolly-rovers-india-cements.html) who was great mental support during the Pandemic times too passed away in December last year. The attender provided by his best friend in life Sanmar Group Chairman N Sanmar was a great relief for his presence meant he had someone to talk to when needed and also one who could take him to the hospital on multiple days in a week for dialysis.

At 3.30pm on Sunday April 17 this year, when this writer called KR Rajagopal to inform about the passing away of N Sankar, he was inconsolable. He was in tears throughout the call. In the months that passed since, in every phone call this writer had with him, he recalled the great contribution of Sankar to cricket and the motivation his presence served personally to him as a batsman (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/11/jolly-rovers-n-sankar-75.html).

Vijay Sankar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/05/vijay-sankar-jolly-rovers-takes-over.html), who continued the supported extended to KRR after the passing away of his appa, told this writer on Saturday morning that Rajagopal would call his appa every year on his birthday to wish him and the two of them would jointly recall the golden years of cricket from the late 1960s. With the passing away of Sankar this year, Rajagopal probably would have missed that morning call on November 19, the birthday of Sankar and passed away a day in advance, such was their great friendship!!!

The dashing wicket keeper bat could not stand the passing away of Sankar earlier this year and probably wanted to join the man, who transformed his life in the late 1960s, in heaven.

Rajagopal told this writer last year in a conversation at his home in Banashankari in Bangalore where he lived alone the ‘fanatic’ interest of KS Narayanan and N Sankar in promoting cricket and cricketers in Madras “As you know, Marina had a very small pavilion. Unmindful of that, both KSN and Sankar sat there next to the players and motivated us through the match. The top management presence was a big boost to us and we wanted to give it our best in front of them. When the crowd almost chased us in anger and began pelting stones, the two of them organised cars for all the players and ensured that each one of us were dropped home. It was just an amazing gesture. They were totally thrilled when we won the final beating a strong State Bank side.”

When Rajagopal moved to Madras in 1966, he set the city grounds ablaze with his dashing stroke play for Jolly Rovers and Tamil Nadu. 1967 was the year when N Sankar returned to Madras from the US and his presence at the ground had a big positive impact on Rajagopal. He was at his explosive best that season as he tore apart every single bowling attack that came his way. He began with two Ranji Trophy centuries and followed it up with a match winning fourth innings knock against Mysore against two top bowlers. Picked in the South Zone team for the Duleep Trophy, he struck two half centuries against Central Zone.  He was also included in the Rest of India team for the Irani Trophy match but politics led to his exclusion from India's tour to Australia that crushed his confidence.
Till the very end, this year, in telephonic conversations with this writer he recalled the greatness of Sankar and his unforgettable trips to Bangalore and Bombay “Sankar was so passionate about the game. Every time I struck a four and would see him in the stands, I would see a sparkle in his eyes. It was truly inspirational and spurred me further. It was unthinkable in the 1960s for a corporate chief to travel to  Bangalore and Bombay  to just watch me bat.”

A Delight to the Fans
Co-incidentally a six decades long devotee of Lord Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal, Dhaadi Chandrasekar, who worked in Foundry Chemicals at MNC Foseco India, only this week recalled to this writer at the Kapali temple as to how as a school boy he would rush to the Marina and Chepauk early in the morning to watch Rajagopal bat “He provided such happiness to me and thousands of fans with his fearless batting display. Big names did not bother him. If the ball was there to be hit, he would send it thudding into the fence sending the crowd into rapturous delight. What also still remains fresh in my memory is the way he kept to Kalyanasundaram removing the bails in a flash when the batsman just lifted his foot. He was a unique wicket keeper and unmatched in those times.”

He says that 55years after he came to Madras he remains 'my top most favourite cricketer and wicket keeper. I have not seen that wicket keeping ability even in Thalaiva Dhoni."

"Forever, I will cherish memories of his attacking batsmanship and wicket keeping."

"Raja Sir You will be in my heart for ever."

Felicitated in 2021 at Chepauk
Last month, the then Secretary of the TNCA RS Ramaswamy recalled  to this writer Rajagopal as a one of a kind batsman who he was inspirational to him during his school days at Salem. It was Ramaswamy as the Secretary who welcomed Rajagopal on August 10 last year when he was felicitated on the finals day of the TNPL. Former President of the TNCA who too had watched Rajagopal play in the late 1960s extended a big hug at Chepauk that evening in memory of the several memorable knocks at that ground. Rajagopal felt happy that evening meeting some of his old friends like SVS Mani ( https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/07/svs-mani-cricketer-selector-coach.html) and R Prabhakar as they cracked jokes and had a hearty laugh ahead of the event pulling each other's legs.

Cricketer P Mukund provides the lone hand
In the last 18 months of Rajagopal’s life, TN cricketer from the 1970s P Mukund was the one who provided the greatest support to him outside of the personal assistant provided by Sankar. Rajagopal often expressed to this writer his gratitude for Mukund for visiting him frequently at his home and spending his valuable personal time with him. "Mukund's presence has given me great confidence. We would discuss some of the old matches that would take my mind away from the physical suffering", Rajagopal told this writer in those phone calls.

Tore apart Surendranath in 1968
Out of all the great innings that he watched Rajagopal play, Sankar recalled to this writer with special fondness the treatment meted out to the Services great Surendranath in the semi-final played at Chepauk in the first week of February 1968 "Services' Surendranath was a former Test player who had performed well for India but to Raja names simply did not matter. When he came on to bowl with the new ball, Raja, much to Surendranath's shock, came down the pitch and belted him away. I still remember Surendranath standing in mid pitch and staring at Raja. It is unlikely anyone would have treated Surendranath the way Raja did that day."

The great delight that Rajagopal provided to teammates and fans alike during this playing days will remained etched in memory forever.
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TNCA Annual Day Slips in recognition

December 2, 2022, 9:59 pm
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Ranji Trophy's 'Consistent Performer of the Year' dropped from TN Squad- 1st div performance gets Ajith Ranji nod
TNCA fails to recognise the achievements of S Sharath and JR Madanagopal at its annual day function
It is almost a month since the annual day event of the TNCA, one that this writer attended. The timing of this story follows the selection of the TN Ranji squad this week and the exclusion of left arm spinner M Siddharth. It is a bit odd and yet a bold call that the cricketer who on November 5 bagged the award for the most consistent performance in Ranji cricket has been dropped for the new Ranji season. This section had featured a story on the first phase of the first division league this year (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/11/tnca-first-division-league-2022-23.html) and  how another left arm spinner Ajith Ram who took over 40 wickets in that first phase, far and above any other bowler staked claim with his outstanding performance with Ajith Ram's selection being a meritorious one coming on the back of a strong show. From that point, current performance and top form in the first division has been recognized. At the same time, a cricketer who has just received the most consistent performer award in Ranji cricket played earlier this year not figuring in the squad at the start of the season comes as a surprise. But Ajith Ram's selection at the expense of Siddharth is quite a bold call on the part of the Selectors taking the new league season's performance ahead of last year's Ranji performances.
Chairman of Selectors S Vasudevan told this writer that Siddharth has done well in white ball cricket while Ajith Ram has done well in red ball taking lot of wickets in League and also against Bangladesh and hence the committee preferred Ajith Ram "Siddharth is in the scheme of things and he will certainly be considered."

This section had also showcased the performance of R Kavin in the first phase of the league season and his performance too has been recognised by the selection committee with him being inducted into the Ranji squad. BCCI match referee DJ Gokulakrishnan is the mentor at Grand Slam for whom Kavin starred in the first phase. He had told this writer in September that by batting for over 130overs, Kavin had shown that he has got unperturbed temperament "He has performed consistently for us and has stood out along with Sai Sudarshan amongst the batsmen in this phase in first division."
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Opener Kaushik Gandhi's exclusion from all three formats may signal the end of his time with TN and he may have to explore professional engagements with other states if he wants to prolong his first class career.

Annual day slip up
At the annual day function last month, TNCA seemed to have missed recording and recognising two significant developments in the year. Following the appointment of TN batting great S Sharath (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/12/sharath-s-tn-crickets-atg.html) as the chairman of the India U 19 selection committee, the team won the U19 World Cup, one that included Manav Parekh (who incidentally also bagged collegiate cricketer of the year award and the promising U19 city cricketer at the annual day function). 

Former South Zone middle order batsman JR Madanagopal (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/05/jr-madanagopal-ipl-umpire-2021-and.html became an international umpire in the season goneby. Madan is only the third umpire in the last three decades  to ascend to the international level from TN after S Venkataraghavan and S Ravi.
It would have fitting for the two of them to have been honoured on the occasion of the annual day for both of their achievements were proud moments for the TNCA and it would have been nice to showcase their achievements in front of the new BCCI President Roger Binny but somehow the achievements of these two seemed to have slipped the attention of the TNCA.

It is hoped that the new committee under Ashok Sigamani (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/11/ashok-sigamani-tnca-president.html) will ensure that the achievements that make TNCA proud are recorded and recognised officially. It is also hoped that these two officials will be  honoured sometime during the course of this season by this new committee at a separate event for their achievements in the recent past.
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Kapali Temple Pradosham Devotee Love for cats

December 5, 2022, 10:40 am
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A devotee spends an entire pradosham evening with the cats at Kapaleeswarar temple
Hopes this will prove an inspiration for others to be loving and caring  
It is Pradosham evening at Sri Kapaleeswarar Temple on a Karthigai Monday. Commerce Grad Suganthi Srinivasan arrived at the temple just after 4pm with her parents to witness Nandi Abhisekam followed by the procession. However, as soon as she saw the huge number of baby cats and asked her parents to continue with the darshan while she began an hour long caring and loving engagement with these tiny cats.
 
All these cats sat on her lap through the hour and refused to leave, playing with her even as the devotee queue stretched to the Go-Shala. One of the cats after having a playful time with her even took a short nap on her lap.
 
Suganthi told this writer that she has been a devotee of the Kapali temple right from her school days at MCTM “I have always been a lover of animals. My engagement with the Kapali cats has been a long one. Right from my childhood days, I would carry milk whenever I came to the Kapali temple and presented it to these cats.”
 
“Even at home, I feed the neighbourhood cats and dogs with biscuits and milk. Whenever we visit the beach, I carry biscuits to feed the stray dogs.” 

Though she has had a decade long engagement with the Kapali cats, their playful nature on the beautiful Monday evening with a chilly breeze running through surprised her. The five of them refused to leave her and each one took turns to play with her sometimes jumping up and down “On the Pradosham evening, while I missed the Nandi Abhisekam, I felt very good that I could give happiness to these cats and that they enjoyed my presence.”
 
Suganthi expects to land up a job soon with a global management consulting firm but that would not stop her from engaging with these lovable cats at the Sri Kapaleeswarar temple for she has committed herself to caring for them whenever she is at the temple.

Not all at the Kapali like the presence of the huge number of cats but Suganthi hopes that her love for the cats at this temple will inspire others to be loving and caring.
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Kapali Temple EO Kaveri passes away

December 7, 2022, 2:09 am
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Kaveri withstood scathing attacks from the activists but finally lost her health battle
She was the best EO I have seen, hard working and always valued our Traditions -Jayakanthan Shivachariar
The longstanding Executive Office of Kapaleeswarar temple, D Kaveri, passed away this morning following a brief illness. For many years, she withstood the scathing attack of the activists but succumbed finally at the hospital after a week long battle.

Much like the engagement with Pon Jayaraman, former EO of the Ranganathaswamy temple Srirangam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/06/srirangam-ranganathaswamy-renovation.html), this writer had an enjoyable professional engagement with Kaveri. If Jayaraman told this writer that the sleeping Lord was keeping a close vigil over him from a couple of hundred yards away and that no one could cheat the Lord, Kaveri’s conversations with this writer was even more engaging and straight. In the last few years, she always asked this writer to write the truth. Not once did she ask for a favour even on the most negative of stories.

Demolition of Kapali Annex
When this writer wrote strongly against the demolition plans of the houses next to the temple in July last year, she stopped the demolition even though the sketch of the new plans of the complex that were to come up in that zone had already been presented (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/07/kapali-temple-surrounds-large-scale.html).

Electric Carts
In June this year, when this writer put out a story on the electric carts meant for senior citizens to be ferried to the temple being dumped at the Kalyana mandapam (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/06/kapali-temple-battery-cars-dumped-in.html), she took action within 24 hours of the story and revived the electric carts. She told this writer that "she has assigned one of her staff to play the role of an exclusive driver of the cart.”
Soon after the temple took back the PS School ground, this writer initiated with her the idea of handing the ground over the weekend for the league matches of the TNCA. Once again, she was prompt in her action and immediately after the TNCA handed her a letter requesting for the ground, she got approval from the Commissioner for letting out the ground for TNCA’s league matches (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/09/ps-school-ground-kapali-temple.html).

She was an ardent devotee of Kapaleeswarar and Karpagambal and her devotion could be seen in the undistracted way she stood before the deities and invoked their blessings. She rarely missed the Tuesday noon Abhisekam of Singaravellar, who was close to her heart.

Beneath the soft exterior was a tough lady who could not be easily shaken. When the activists launched the ‘own your temple’ programme at the Kapaleeswarar temple on the Vinayaka Chaturthi day, she took stern action at such an event being organised without her approval. FIRs were filed against the organisers and her action sent shock waves both among the devotees and the organisers. Though the launch was to be followed up with events at many other temples, her action ensured that the much hyped series was nipped in the bud (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/08/kapali-temple-own-your-temple-launch.html). In the two months that have passed since, there has not been a word on this series from the activists, such has been the impact of her action.

Former Editor of The Hindu Friday Review Geetha Venkataramanan had several interactions with Kaveri and had known her for a long time “She was soft and yet firm. I found her to be a very friendly person and one could always reach out to her. She helped the Friday Review with useful pieces of information when we put out a story during the previous Kumbabhisekam just under a decade ago.”

Activists' action taking a toll on her
Kaveri had told this writer earlier this year that she was fed up with the constant court cases and that it had taken a toll on her. "I am hoping to head back to the Madurai region away from this constant unjustified criticism of me by the activists" she had told this writer in an exclusive chat in her office room earlier this year.

Jayakanthan Shivachariar, the hereditary priest at the temple, has always had high words of praise in the way she has managed the affairs of the temple. Soon after hearing the news of her death, he told this writer at the temple that she was the best EO he had seen.“She was hard working and always looking to revive the utsavams that had come to a halt in the past. When she took over, many of the staffers were in retirement phase and it was very challenging for her to manage. But she handled it with confidence. Her message to us was always to perform all the poojas as per agama. She did not want us to compromise even one bit on the traditions. Everyone in the temple respected her for that.”

He said that when she was the EO at the Thiruverkadu temple, she was instrumental in the revival of the utsavams at a nearby remote temple that had been in a dilapidated condition. She ensured that many utsavams that had become a thing of the past were revived and her proactive initiation has led to those utsavams continuing to this day.
She was easily the best EO I have come across, Jayakanthan Shivachariar told this writer on Wednesday afternoon.

Revival of Traditions
In fact, only last month, she revived the Veda Parayanam during the Kantha Sashti Utsavam that had come to a halt decades ago. Sri Venkata Ganapathy Ganapadigal told this writer last month that it was solely because of her initiative that the Veda Parayanam was being revived. 

World Bank Consultant Ramkumar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/07/kapali-v-ramkumar-world-bank-to-sanyasam.html), who is taking up Sainthood, met her only a month ago and found her to be a true professional at work. He told this writer soon after meeting with her that he was taken aback by the courtesy extended to him, who she was meeting for the first time "The reality of her personality was in complete contrast to the external world's perception of her. She was respectful and listened to the issues I narrated with great patience. Within three hours of my meeting, she had initiated corrective action. She also expressed intent to hear out any issues at the temple and to improvement ideas, which was quite heartwarming."
Thiruvallikeni resident Ravi Sundar, who is an integral part of the Prabhandham Ghosti at the Parthasarathy perumal temple has been with AC firm Voltas for over two decades. He recalls his association with Kaveri “It was during her reign as the DC of the Parthasarathy temple that the ACs were first installed at the temple. She was very helpful with the entire process including handing the AMCs.  I found her to be an able administrator, very straight forward and a decent lady, who handled our engagement very professionally."
“Once she became the EO at the Kapali temple, I once again interacted with her for revamping of the AC units there. In the decade that had passed by, she had not changed at all and remained the same professional administrator who minced no words in the interactions.”

The HR & CE has lost a noble soul, he said.

She had been seriously affected by COVID in 2020 and was never the same again. She had been very cautious in her approach ever since. In fact, she was so taken over by the health hazard that the Kapali temple was one of the last to open up for devotee darshan at the end of Wave 2, much after the Parthasarathy temple had opened. 

Chairman of Trustees Reddy is a broken man this morning and is lost for words "It is a depressing feeling having lost such a tireless worker. I have nothing to say", he told this writer soon after her passing away.
For a temple beset with controversy from the non appointment of the hereditary trustee to the transfer of funds to the new college in Kolathur to the non recovery of dues from the tenants, this writer's abiding memory of Kaveri in the many years of one on one discussions with her remains this statement "Write any story on this temple and the administration with utmost honesty. Write the Truth."

And true to her word, every time this writer pointed out the wrongs, she immediately took corrective action.
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Mangai Madam Utsavam Revival

December 8, 2022, 7:09 am
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After several decades, the Pancha Parva Utsavam on Pournami was revived today with a Thirumanjanam, Perumal Procession and Thaligai presentation
For the first time in several decades, the Pournami celebration of utsava deity Ranganatha at the Veera Narasimha Perumal temple at Mangai Madam took place on Thursday (Dec 8) on the occasion of Karthigai Pournami. Interestingly, this has been revived exactly a day after the birthday of the last of the Vaishnavite Saint Poets Thiru Mangai Azhvaar. On Wednesday, on the Karthigai day in Karthigai, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s avathara utsavam was celebrated in the Thiru Nangur region.

A devotee currently based in Madras has initiated the revival of Thirumanjanam and the Procession every Pournami as part of the monthly Pancha Parva Utsavam. 

On Thursday, Thirumanjanam was performed which was followed in the evening  with a procession of Ranganatha in the presence of around 50 devotees who were then presented with the sacred food. 
The  Veera Narasimha temple in Mangai Madam whose legend is connected to Thiru Mangai Azhvaar’s transformation from a King to a Saint Poet had been in a dilapidated state with broken floors, damaged outer walls and falling roof not so long ago. 

Long ago, Thirumanjanam had taken place for Thayar every Uthiram with a presentation of Thaligai but with the dilapidated state at the end of the previous century this too had come to a halt. The devotee is also looking to revive the Thayar utsavam every Uthiram. 
Bhattar's transformational exercise
Balaji Bhattar, who had his Vedic and Agama initiation from the renowned Lakshmana Dikshithar of Parthan Palli Divya Desam, was just 20 when he decided to return to his hereditary location from Mylapore rejecting several lucrative offers in Madras. He was keen to dedicate himself to a lifetime service at this remote temple, one of the Pancha Narasimha temples of Thiru Nangur. It was here that Thiru Mangai Azhvaar had performed the Thathiyeeraadhanai for 1008 Vaishnavites as per the condition laid by his beloved Kumuduvalli Nachiyar of Annan Perumal Koil, one that was intended to transform him to traditional ways.

உண்மை மிகு மறையொடு நல் கலைகள்
நிறை பொறைகள் உதவு கொடை என்று
இவற்றின் ஒழிவு இல்லாப் பெரிய வண்மை மிகு மறையவர்கள்
மலிவு எய்து நாங்கூர்
வைகுண்ட விண்ணகரம் வணங்கு மட நெஞ்சே- Thiru Mangai Azhvaar

Residing near Sempon Sei Koil, Balaji Bhattar is now anchoring the transformation of the Veera Narasimha temple and with his dedicated service over the last two decades has managed to create a loyal set of devotees at this temple. He has come to be recognised as one of the enterprising bhattars  in the Nangur region. Only last month, he led the Samprokshanam of the temple that came after two decades. The consecration event was well attended. The revival of Pancha Parva Utsavam on Pournami is a significant milestone for the temple. Today's event is yet another step towards the revival of the traditional practices that Balaji Bhattar has set his eyes on.
As part of the now popular 11 Garuda Sevai Utsavam in Nangur, Thiru Mangai Azhvaar from Thirunagari makes a trip to this temple in Thai.

சீர் அணி மாட நாங்கை நல் நடுவுள்
செம்பொன் செய் கோயிலினுள்ளே
கார் அணி மேகம் நின்றது ஒப்பானை
கண்டுகொண்டு உய்ந்தொழிந்தேனே

The revival on Karthigai Pournami augurs well for this remote temple near Thiru Nangur and it is hoped that the temple will be back to its historical glory. For most in the next gen, this was a new devotional experience for they had not seen the Pancha Parva utsavam to-date on the Pournami day. And now they can look forward to this event every month.

A devotionally committed bhattar has proved that remoteness is not a hindrance. Despite the threat of the Cyclone, the Pournami event that had seemed to have become a forgotten tradition at Mangai Madam was revived today.
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Shyamsundar India U19 Suryoday Banking Entrepreneur

December 9, 2022, 5:59 am
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He was the talk of the town in 1988 after playing the U19 World Cup in Australia
In his 2nd innings, Banking Entrepreneur Shyam has garnered business of Rs. 250crores and is looking to take his branch network to 10 in Chennai
Big runs for an unfancied St. John School (Mandaveli) prompted Santhome to rope him into their cricket squad. Within a few years, he made the big leap into the next level in cricket playing for the state and zone at the U15 level. His big century for South Zone against ROI at the U19 level earned him a place in the India team for the inaugural Junior World Cup. Soon he was a star personality in the city. When he came to play a practice match for a Santhome XI against YMCA TSR in the summer of 1988, he was the cynosure of all eyes. He failed to break through to the next level and could not make it into the TN Ranji squad. 30 years after his World Cup debut, he made his debut as an entrepreneur launching a Banking enterprise in Chennai. Within the first few years of the launch, he has garnered business of Rs. 250crores and has big expansion plans. Last year this section featured a story on first division Cricketer turned Entrepreneur Promodh Sharma (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/05/promodh-sharma-cricketer-turned.html). This one is about another one – Junior India Cricketer- who is now making a big mark in the Banking Sector. Here’s the story.

RG Shyamsundar grew up playing tennis ball cricket near Karaneeswarar temple in Mylapore very near the St Bedes ground where he had the first knock with the cricket ball.  His uncles VN Guruswamy (TNCA umpire) and Mukunthraman (Port Trust cricketer) played the early grooming role. 

74 year old Guruswamy says that it was Mukund Raman who played a larger role in his cricket development “Mukunth would write the names of Indian and Australian cricketers forming two teams and play a tennis ball test match with him inside the house. That was Shyam’s first initiation into cricket. It was also he who spoke to his namesake at Grand Prix and got Shyam into the league team alongside some of the established stars of the time.”
                                    Guruswamy

Shyam himself recalls practicing alongside WV Raman, LS and Sankupani as a young boy “Grand Prix was a destination of choice for budding cricketers as it was one of the very few clubs that offer net facilities. It was a great experience to have practiced and played alongside some of the greats of the times.”
                                  Mukunthraman

Guruswamy, who played for Bunts in the first division, recalls a match at the Union ground “Shyam was a young boy and he came along to watch the match. When one of our fielders was injured, he fielded as a substitute and much to everyone’s surprise took an outstanding catch. That day, he gave glimpses of what he could achieve on the cricket field.”

The Cricketing Call - Joins Santhome from St. Johns
His strong performance for an unfancied St Johns (Mandaveli) school in the TNCA tournament led cricket coach CPS Mani to rope him into the school. It was a dream run for Shyam at Santhome. He particularly remembers the 160 he scored against a strong St. Bedes side in the semifinal. He credits the Head Master Camillus for the cricketing transformation at Santhome “He was a thorough professional and gave his unflinching support to the cricket team. Ahead of every final, he would allow us to take off for practice. On the finals day, the students would pack the ground and support us. It served as a great motivation for us.”
Despite his cricketing focus, he was good at academics and always secured high grades at school. This was to stand him in good stead when after his cricketing career, he took to academics again.

Craze for his Idol GRV
Into the U19 level, he had moved up his game one notch. He was in scintillating form in 1987-88, the year that the senior team won the Ranji Trophy. He scored three hundreds including one against Rest of India. He calls it the biggest turning point of his career “At that age, there was no real aim and I just played for the love for the game. GRV was my inspiration.  He was my cricketing idol and I was crazy about him. I wanted to bat like him.”

Trademark Square Cuts
Shyam played for RBI in the first division before he joined Jolly Rovers. His craze for GRV had translated into how he played his strokes in those early years. Off spinner and top order batsman NS Ramesh remembers the phase and how he had a penchant for square cuts “He was an excellent player. His square cuts were superb and special. He was particularly strong off the backfoot. As a person, he was a team man to the hilt. We just loved him during his stint with RBI.”
South Zone were going down the barrel at 30 for 5 against ROI at the Wankhade Stadium chasing 400plus “I shared a 270run stand with CK. I ended up with an unbeaten 175. And we won outright.”

It was that big match winning century for South Zone that earned him a place in the Indian U19 team that toured NZ and then later for the Junior WC in Australia. In the only test against New Zealand, the Indian think tank decided to go for the run chase instead of playing out a draw. Shyam recalls that innings “Vasu Paranjpe instilled a lot of self-belief in me and thought that I had it in me go a long way in cricket. He wanted me to go after the chase. I remember taking it close but wickets kept falling at the other end and we fell just short.”
With that unbeaten knock, Shyamsundar showed that day that he could hold his own against a team that comprised future test stars. However, the World cup did not go as per expectations and India did not qualify “Vasu Paranjpe had high expectations of me. He would often ask later as to why TN did not pick me.”

When Shyam walked into the YMCA Pavilion ground along with S Sharath in the summer of 1988 to play a practice match against YMCA TSR, he was the cynosure of all eyes and the buzz in the entire ground was all about ‘that guy is India U19, a big hitter. Watch out for him.”

Lifelong Friendship
Murrays owner and U15 India schools fast bowler Hemant Srivatsa (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/04/hemant-srivatsa-cricketer-of-1980s.html), who quit serious cricket before he turned 20, played together for about four years in the mid-1980s with Shyamsundar from U15 to U19. Shyam has been one of Hemant’s few cricketing friends who have survived the test of time “I had never attended any camps till I was almost 15 and met Shyam for the first time at the U15 camp when we both got selected for the city team. My earliest memories of Shyam is of meeting a short diminutive boy who was extraordinary as a fielder in the cover region.”
Hemant was a big swing bowler in those early days and rarely placed a mid-off for a large part of his career. He looks back at the role Shyam played in those four years “With Shyam at wide cover, your confidence just shot up as a bowler. Nothing went past him, left or right. He would save a lot of runs for you with his brilliant fielding. He was a joy to watch, both as a batsman and a fielder. There was something graceful about everything he did on the field. He was all class and a brilliant cricketer. His persona was so charming that he remains one of the few cricketers I am still talking to.”
Soon after, he became a star at Vivekananda College “I realized how big the World Cup was back in Madras. Suddenly I had a big fan following and became conscious that everyone was watching me. It almost gave me the feeling that I had attained stardom, the way the college students and fellow cricketers looked at me that year.”

Unfortunately he was not immediately picked in the U22 squad. Guruswamy remembers that phase soon after his return from the U19 World Cup “Shockingly he was not picked in the U22 squad with the selector asking him to perform in the first division. An India U19 cricketer should have been an automatic choice in that squad but it did not work that way in TN cricket at that time. He got a raw deal.” 

To a star studded club
Similar to his move from St Johns to Santhome earlier in the decade, Shyamsundar had a high profile transfer to Jolly Rovers from RBI “Bharath Reddy presented an irresistible offer to play for Jolly Rovers. It was a star studded team comprising of VBC, B Arun, LS and D. Vasu. To be amongst them was a great feeling. But it also meant you could have got lost amidst all the glamorous names. But Bharath had a special liking for me and never dropped me in that phase.”

In the few years he played for Jolly Rovers, he got a feel of professional cricket in the true sense. Like his successor S Sharath, Shyam has the highest words of praise for Bharath Reddy “I learned a lot under Bharath. It was a completely professional approach there. You had to earn your place in the team. He was a great cricketing brain and the best captain I played under.”

Talented and Hardworking
Bharath Reddy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2019/11/bharath-reddy-players-man.html) looks back at Shyam as a very special player from those times “There were only a few players who were both talented and hard working. Shyam was one such guy. I had a special liking for him as he combined his talent with hard work. It was unfortunate he did not get the Ranji call despite consistent scores.”

Shyamsundar did play Junior State cricket and performed creditably “We were chasing 350+ in the Junior State match and there was still 160 to get when the last man joined me. I scored 170 and we just fell short.”

Around 1990, he says he was confident of breaking into the Ranji squad. “After that innings and having scored three hundreds for Chemplast, I was confident of getting the Ranji break but it was highly competitive. Several of us were fighting for 1-2 spots in the middle order.”

The other three U19 teammates from that World Cup squad played for TN with Shyam being the lone one to miss out. It still rankles him “Every time someone talks to me about those days, this topic is brought up but I quickly moved on from those disappointments and enjoyed my cricket at Indian Bank.”

Family's Disappointment at Shyam not getting the Ranji break
Uma, wife of Mukunthraman, recalls those days from the 1970s “We lived on Canal Bank Road (RA Puram). My husband would bowl all the time to Shyam. As a young boy, Shyam was mad about cricket and was always seen with a cricket bat. While we were all delighted at him playing the U19 World Cup in Australia, it was disappointing that he did not get the chance to play in the Ranji Trophy as we thought he was talented enough and had it in him to play for the state at the senior level. 

A mentor to many cricketers
For ATG S Sharath (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/12/sharath-s-tn-crickets-atg.html), Shyam was a mentor. The two of played together at Jolly Rovers in the early 1990s “We batted at No. 5 and 6 and put together several big partnerships in that period. I found him to be a gritty and gutsy batsman and an excellent team man. He got big 100s on all matting wickets, a phenomenal achievement in those days. He held his own in that star studded line up.”

“As a human being, he was a straight forward man and a happy go lucky guy with a terrific attitude towards the game and life. He helped youngsters right from their school days to club cricket, mentoring many of them.”

One of his biggest moments -Meeting with Idol GRV
It was during his stint at Chemplast that he enjoyed one of the biggest moments in cricket “Chemplast was playing a tourney in Bombay. When Bharath Reddy called me to his hotel room, I thought it would be something to do with the match. He surprised me by introducing me to GRV. Bharath knew my craze for the legend and it was one of my big cricketing moments to chat with the legendary batsman.”

From Cricket to Banking
Sports Chief at Indian Bank DV Sundar who played a big role in the careers of several sportspeople and RI Palani, Captain of Indian Bank and now the Secretary of the TNCA, offered him an officer’s post at Indian Bank“My parents were delighted with the offer and asked me to take it. I enjoyed the responsibilities at the bank, both in cricket and at work.”

Sundar saw him from close quarters for over a decade and is critical of the way the TN selectors treated him “Almost every other India U19 cricketer from that year played Ranji cricket. He would have blossomed had he been immediately roped into the Ranji squad. It proved to be a big dampener. He was highly talented but was not recognized by the state. But despite that, he remained humble, pragmatic and committed to the team’s cause. He was very consistent and a big contributor for Indian Bank. But unfortunately, decades later, what lingers on in my mind was the shabby treatment meted out to him by the TN selectors.”

With hopes of a Ranji call dashed, he began equipping himself professionally. He picked a MBA in Banking and Finance, completed CAIIB and did a PG Dip in Treasury and ForEx as well as a Dip in Anti Money laundering. While he continued to play cricket, he began to focus on professional work at the bank.

Exceptional Cricketer, Down to Earth person
Palani has known Shyam very closely for the last four decades right from the time he was in school “He was an amazing talent and was shaping up like Gavaskar in his late teens. Despite his big contribution in Junior cricket as well as in the first division, he missed playing Ranji Trophy. It was unfortunate he was overlooked by the state but that’s how it goes in cricket.”

Solidity to the Indian Bank middle order
Palani says that Shyam provided great stability and solidity to the middle order "In the mid-90s, we had a solid bowling attacking and were a good fielding side but we were of solidity in the middle order. I convinced him to join the bank. In fact, he was the first India U19cricketer to be given an officer’s post at the bank. He contributed exceptionally for the bank and played a crucial role in many of our wins. Despite his unforgettable performances for the bank, he remained grounded and has always been a down to earth human being, ever willing to help others and a jovial character. Till the end of his stint with the bank, he was a dedicated cricketer offering his best to the bank.”

Into his late 30s, he quit Indian Bank and joined Axis Bank as VP where for over a decade he played the roles of Operations head and was deep into retail branch banking.

Entrepreneurial Venture
And then in March 2018, he did something that he had never visualized in his life. He took the call to become a banking entrepreneur. He became a banking correspondent of Suryoday Small Finance Bank in an exclusive partnership “It was a first of its kind arrangement. I had a banking license and could operate on my own managing the loans and advances. Providing employment to 20 people has been a particularly satisfying experience. To work hard every day to make this a successful venture and keep the employees happy has been a driving force in the last few years.”

Despite two years of the Pandemic, he has managed to garner business of Rs. 250crores and is looking to expand this further “We have three branches currently and our plan is to take this up to at least 10 branches in Chennai.”

He is active in his day to day role at the bank. His cricketing network as well as his almost three decades banking contacts have come in handy in his entrepreneurial venture in securing deposits as well as lending to customers.

A Great Role Model
Fast bowler from the 1990s DJ Gokulakrishnan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2017/03/gokulakrishnan-j.html) who played Ranji cricket for TN and Goa is now a Match Referee and will be making his ‘official’ debut in Ranji cricket later this month. He played against Shyamsundar on many occasions in the 1990s and is saddened that he did not get even opportunity to play Ranji cricket where he could have showcased his skills “To all of us in the late 1980s, he was a big star, having just come back from the World Cup. He was fiercely competitive, a fantastic fielder and a great team man. He should have been given at least one chance in Ranji to prove himself.   He handled the pressure well on the field. It is credit to him that he put the disappointments behind and moved on in life and has made it big in the banking field. It is a lesson for others as to how one should face the challenges in life and take things sportingly. His conduct says a lot about his positive mindset.”
While he was a warrior on the field, he was and has always been a great human being, off the field "As teenagers, when Madan and I played as guests in the Moin ud Dowla tourney in Hyderabad, he was on the opposite side. And yet, he took us out for dinner and made us feel at home in Hyderabad. He is a values driven person and I have always had huge respect for him for the way he has treated fellow humans." 

Shyamsundar continues to be involved with cricket. He has been managing Puraswalkam CC in the TNCA league for decades and has mentored several players including Hemang Badani (PCC is his appa's club) who played for the country. He is always seen at his favourite St. Bede’s ground during the league season practicing with his team mates and mentoring the next gen. He has also been playing club cricket for Indiranagar in the inter club T20 tournaments in the city. For now, he sees as his next big moments in life taking the Bank to the next level and scaling up its operations in the city. Just as he was in his hey days in cricket, Shyam is delighted to be donning the entrepreneurial hat and working as a team with his mates to take the bank to greater heights. The team spirit in him is undying and that will continue to serve as great motivation for all those who work with him in cricket and elsewhere.

This section wishes him the best in his entrepreneurial endeavour.
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Srivilliputhur Araiyar Natha Muni Srinivasa Rangan

December 11, 2022, 11:50 pm
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32year old Araiyar Natha Muni is back in Srivilliputhur to take forward the Araiyar Sevai service
He hopes to use the emerging WFH model to combine Corporate Work with Temple Kainkaryam
Way back in June 2007, this section had featured a story on Araiyar Sevai and how the service had dwindled to just a handful of Divya Desam in Tamil Nadu. Bala Mukunda Araiyar of Srivilliputhur, who is one of the few Araiyars still practicing this difficult art, had told this writer that month that while it was a great honour for him to be performing the ‘Abhinaya’ that he had learned from his legendary father for over 18 years, it was a pity that Araiyars had not been taken care of financially and hence many from other divya desams had gone away from this art seeking greener pastures in the corporate world. With the limited financial wherewithal he managed to perform the Arangetram for his son while he was still a young school student.

15 years later, his son Araiyar Srinivasa Rangan (Natha Muni) has taken a big call this month quitting his high paying job at HDFC Bank where he served as a Branch Manager in a devotional endeavor to continue the Araiyar Sevai Kainkaryam at the Srivilliputhur Vadabadrasayee Divya Desam. Earlier he had been with ICICI Bank for six years.

While a lot of the Pandemic challenges resulted in gloom, there were some positive outcomes as well. The Work From Home model has thrown open new opportunities and Natha Muni Araiyar is hoping to leverage that model to his advantage  “I have been away from full-fledged Kainkaryam over the last decade ever since I completed my Engineering degree. With the WFH concept now becoming an accepted model especially in the IT industry, I am toying with the idea of exploring opportunities in the IT space that would allow me to continue with the Araiyar Sevai Kainkaryam.”
Even as a young boy, he had begun learning the sacred verses from his grandfather Araiyar Srinivasa Rangachariar(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2013/08/araiyar-srinivasachariyar-srivilliputhur.html), who had performed service at this Divya Desam for over five decades. His grandfather, who passed away last decade, had even presented Araiyar Sevai once in the Himalayas in freezing conditions.  Araiyar Natha Muni was also initiated into the Vyakyanams by his appa. 
    Natha Muni Araiyar's Arangetram

Moves into the Corporate World
However, like most in the new gen, he too was keen to get into the corporate world having seen the financial struggles of his appa and grandfather through his childhood years. They had lived in a dilapidated house near the temple for a long time. Bala Mukunda Araiyar went through a lot of financial stress in getting his daughters married “My grandfather and appa performed this as a kainkaryam without salary from the temple. It had been a financially challenging period. My appa found it financially strenuous to help me become an Engineer and getting my sisters married. With both of them performing service at the temple, I wanted to get into the corporate world to put my engineering degree to use.”

Natha Muni Araiyar joined IBM Info Service in Madras a decade ago. After a few years, he moved into the banking industry and joined ICICI Bank at Tuticorin. While he was away at the corporate world, he did perform service at the temple once in a while whenever he was in Srivilliputhur.

Taking over the mantle from his appa
His appa is turning 70 and it is not getting any easier for him to perform the service, especially through the 21 day Adyayana Utsavam, given the health challenges. In 2019, during the Brahmotsavam at the Nambi Temple in Thiru Kurungudi, Bala Mukundan Araiyar swooned and fell down unconscious soon after presentation of Araiyar Sevai (it was again the TVS family - Venu Srinivasan - that offered immediate on the ground support). Despite challenging health conditions, Bala Mukundan Araiyar continues to perform at the Srivilliputhur Divya Desam but the medical bills have been mounting. In recent years, he has also been performing at the Maasi Utsavam at Thiru Kannapuram.
While he deems the financial part important for survival and hence a foot in the corporate world, Araiyar Natha Muni is keen to continue the Araiyar Sevai during his life time. It was that devotional mindset of trying to takeover the mantle from his aged appa that Araiyar Natha Muni has quit his coveted post at HDFC Bank and returned to Srivilliputhur. 

A full Margazhi presentation this year
10 days from now, Araiyar Natha Muni, who has learned 10 Vyakyanams from the Nalayira Divya Prabhandham, will be presenting the service during the Adyayana Utsavam. Some of the presentations during this utsavam are distinctive and a unique feature at this Divya Desam. This Margazhi, he will also be performing daily service at the temple through the entire month, for the first time in over a decade.

He is clear in his thought process. At the Srivilliputhur Divya Desam, Araiyars are bestowed with the exclusive rights during Thodakkam and Saatru Murai each day of the year. But except for select Thirumanjanams every month, income has been almost non-existent. Araiyar Natha Muni and his sisters also grew up in a dilapidated house whose roof could have come down anytime in that phase “Appa has performed service for several decades without a salary. The Sambhavanai from devotees accrues only during the Adyayana Utsavam. For the rest of the 11months, there was very minimal income for appa in all the decades that he performed service. I do not want my two daughters to go through the same financial challenges that we encountered and am hoping to lead a life that combines Selfless Kainkaryam with Corporate Work.”
The Pandemic and the resultant WFH has come as a blessing in disguise for him. Starting 2023, he expects to begin the process of mastering the entire Nalayira Divya Prabhandham as well as undergoing a further initiation into the Vyakyanams, while he simultaneously dons the role of a ‘WFH’ Business Analyst at one of the top IT firms. With Bangalore based IT firms offering full-fledged WFH, he is confident of picking up a job after the Margazhi Utsavam by when he is likely to complete his Java certification course that he is currently pursuing. 

The Araiyars
Araiyars (King of Music) are descendents of Nathamuni, who is said to have introduced the Araiyar Sevai. Lord Ranganatha of Srirangam himself gave the Araiyars the right to perform the unique musical chanting at the temples and presented them with the cone-like cap, two cymbals and the sacred garland (which they wear around their neck when they perform).

The Araiyars first recite the Paasuram, they then explain its inner meaning and finally perform the Abhinaya, a unique art/dance performance with their hands and legs explaining the Paasurams with special musical effect.

The Araiyar Sevai requires a deep knowledge and understanding of the Paasurams. It is not an easy art, as can be seen from the fact that it takes nearly 20 years to learn and perfect the ‘Abhinaya’.Araiyar Sevai that had once been performed in several Divya Desams in TN,, is currently seen only in four Divya Desams - Srirangam, Azhvaar Tirunagari, Thiru Kurungudi and Srivilliputhur - in TN. It is this Araiyar family from Srivilliputhur that had also been performing at Thiru Kurungudi during the Kaisika Ekadasi and Panguni Utsavams. 

With his return to his home town for this year's Margazhi Utsavam,  the young Araiyar Natha Muni has taken this big devotional call to keep this historical service going at Srivilliputhur at least during his lifetime.  His intent to take over from his appa Bala Mukundan Araiyar and to continue this service is laudable. In the coming decades, one can expect this Araiyar family from Srivilliputhur to continue to delight with the presentation of this rare art of Araiyar Sevai. And that’s great news for the devotional world. 
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Kanchi Varadar Malai Mel Krishnan MNCs to Paricharakar

December 18, 2022, 2:04 am
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A budding cricketer in his teens, he moved into the Financial Services space working with MNCs for close to decade
At 30, his mind turned completely devotional and he took the call to spend the rest of his life at the Varadar Sannidhi in Kanchipuram

An off spinner at Venkatasubba Rao School, coached by AG Ram Singh, Malai Mel Krishnan (Shukkal to his cricket teammates) was part of the YMCA TSR team along the current TNCA President Ashok Sigamani (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/11/ashok-sigamani-tnca-president.html) that won the All India inter club tournament in Bangalore in the early 1990s. He played a lot of his initial cricket with friends on Singaram Street in T. Nagar. He joined Gurunanak College under the sports quota but did not get enough opportunities there. He played for Free Lancers, his uncle’s team, in the TNCA league. Soon after graduation, he went to Symbiosis (Pune) for his MBA.

With MNCs for close to a decade
With a MBA to cap, the off spinner turned his attention to the Corporate World. For just under a decade, he worked at MNCs Ford, ABN Amro and CitiCorp in addition to engagements with ICICI and EDS. But by the time he turned 30, he had had enough of the corporate world and moved into the devotional space. His marriage into a very traditional family probably also influenced this transformation.

His forefathers had been performing the Sannidhi Paricharaka service at the Varadaraja Perumal Divya Desam in Kanchipuram. His appa too had taken VRS in his early 50s from the bank and performed this service. But given his early cricketing interests and his foray into the corporate world, one did not expect Krishnan to turn devotional at 30.

He learned the pooja kramas from his wife’s brothers one of whom is an archaka at the Vedantha Desikar temple in Mylapore. He recalls the early apprehension at the temple soon after he joined “Most of them at the temple saw me as a corporate guy who was likely to quit temple service and get back again into the corporate space. And hence I did not find easy acceptance inside the temple. But I was determined to dedicate a lifetime to the hereditary service and hung on to it. It took over two years for those at the temple to acknowledge that here was indeed a devotionally inclined kainkarya who had left the corporate world for good.”

Corporate Wear to Tuft and Panchakacham
From a coat wearing corporate lad, Malai Mel Krishnan began sporting a tuft. The shirt gave way to the traditional panchakacham. To those from his teens, he became unrecognizable. His external appearance bore no resemblance to how he looked as a cricketer and a corporate executive. He shifted from his house in T. Nagar and moved into a traditional several decades old home in front of the Varadaraja Perumal temple. 

Sannidhi Paricharaka Service
Krishnan provides Sannidhi Paricharaka service wherein he provides support service to archakas during Thiru Aradhanam, Thirumanjanam, Ashtotram and Yaaga Saalai pooja. He is also the one who carries the sacred vessels. In addition to the Sanndhi Paricharaka service, he has also been handed the responsibility of managing the Vedantha Desikar Sannidhi and Thiruvananthazhvaan Sannidhi at the temple.

It is now a decade and a half since he began his Sannidhi Paricharaka service and he has found it devotionally fulfilling. He spent the first three decades of his life completely in the metros living a fast paced life there. He says that the 15years at the Varadar temple have been enjoyable and that "he has fully tuned himself to this devotional way of life". 

Positively Energized even on tiring service days
There are several days in the year where he spends around 15hours at the temple but unlike the corporate world where he felt the monotony and boredom, he feels energized performing this sometimes physically exhausting service. During this phase, he has also had the opportunity to be  alongside Athi Varadar in that once in a 40 year event that saw several lakhs of devotees have darshan. 

Given his commitment to spending the rest of his life in service to Varadar, he has this year reconstructed his old dilapidated house on Sannidhi Street and that now wears a fresh look.

As a youngster in his teens and even well into his 20s, it was not conceivable that Malai Mel Krishnan would turn to temple service this early in his life. But the transformation was sudden and he has clung on to this service as a God’s gift to him. 
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