NCA's South Zone Academy inaugurated

CHENNAI, MAY 2. Optimism was the buzzword as the National Cricket Academy's South Zone centre was inaugurated at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium, here, on Wednesday.

Mr. K.M. Mammen, vice-chairman and managing director, MRF Ltd., who cut the ribbon to get the Academy up and running, said he was delighted such a facility was made available to the under-18 cricketers. The present batch of twenty players will undergo a two-month stint.

He noted being in the Academy was a ``different ball game,'' for the aspirants, and added it would be the first step towards becoming India players for several of them.

Mr. Mammen said he had asked Mr. T.A. Sekar, National selector, and head coach, MRF Pace Foundation, to throw open the facilities of the Foundation for the boys. The players will have `nets' at the MAC Stadium, and will utilise the Pace Foundation gym and the swimming pool.

``Ultimately cricket has to win,'' Mr. Mammen observed and hoped the selected cricketers would make the best use of the excellent facilities. In Chennai, the MRF Pace Foundation and the MAC Spin Foundation have played their parts too, he said.

Earlier, Mr. Ashok Kumbhat, secretary, Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) welcomed the gathering, while Mr. S. Ganesan, vice-president, TNCA, presented a bouquet to Mr. Mammen.

Former India wicket-keeper Syed Kirmani, head coach, South Zone Academy, thanked the TNCA and the MRF Pace Foundation. ``The boys are fortunate and lucky. It is a wonderful opportunity for them,'' he said. The emphasis will be on fielding and physical fitness.

Kirmani said he would strive to bring about integrity and discipline in the boys. ``They have to be good human beings and team men.'' There would be variations on the routines, he revealed, ``Not idly and vada every day. We have to look at several things.'' Endurance runs, weight training, swimming, yoga, are all in the Academy's programme for the boys.

He said since wicket-keepers were always in the game, and involved in all its aspects, they had an inherent advantage when it came to coaching. The stumper then pointed to the Australian Cricket Academy that had Rodney Marsh and Wayne Philips in key roles.

Kirmani admitted he, along with K. Bharat Kumar and J. Abhiram, former first class players who will assist him, ``could only take the horse to water, couldn't make it drink.'' In other words, the players have to take the chance.

Bharat Kumar, coach, Tamil Nadu Ranji team, said the Academy would look at a bigger canvas, not just the skills of a player. The focus would be on the mental aspect also, and much would depend on how the boys make the transition mentally he added.

Personally, working with these promising cricketers was a challenging task, he said. ``I am really looking forward to this. They are the future. It really is a wonderful concept.''

Abhiram, who is the assistant coach to Kirmani in the Karnataka Ranji side, observed since all three (Kirmani, Bharat Kumar and himself) had played cricket together, they shared a fine rapport. He said all boys knew the basics, but the academy would only hone their skills. The cricketers would also be groomed to become better all-round personalities. ``They will be taught how to conduct themselves off the field, how to deal with the media. These things are important.''

National junior coach Roger Binny would be visiting the academy periodically and the players who stand out, could be sent to the National Cricket Academy in Bangalore for further training.

After the inauguration ceremony, Kirmani gave the boys a pep talk, and soon they got down to real business - cricket.

The boys will have the benefit of guidance from Messrs. Ganesh Kumar, psychologist, D.V. Sridhar, yoga, Ramji, fitness trainer, Hamsraj, physio, Dr. T. Madhu, sports medicine and Dr. Sumitra, nutritionist. Silicon Valley software will be used to assess the progress of the boys on computer.

The selected players: Deepak Chowgule, H.T. Sudhir Rao, Vinay Utappa, Stuart Binny, Chetan Williams, Senthil Kumar (all Karnataka), Vikram Kumar, T. Kumaran, Vishal Kudawla (all Tamil Nadu), Nalin Reddy, T. Suman, A.T. Raidu (all Hyderabad), A.S.K. Varma, K. Srinivas Rao, P.A.V.N. Raju, G. Shankar Rao (all Andhra), Mousam Nathani, S. Sreesanth, Raiphi Vincent Gomes (all Kerala), and Sherbahadur Yadav (Goa).

Coaches: Syed Kirmani, K. Bharat Kumar, J. Abhiram.

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