Chennai: The Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) on Sunday launched a Super Kings cricket academy.
The academy will start with two centres in Chennai and Salem and then expand across Tamil Nadu and rest of the world over time.
The first academy in Chennai will be located at Thoraipakkam, while the one in Salem will be at the Salem Cricket Foundation.
"The Super Kings Academy will have experienced BCCI certified coaches who will impart CSK system of learning to students. The academy will have access to learning and training methodology from CSK and guest lectures from CSK players and support staff," it said in a statement.
Super Kings CEO K S Viswanathan said, "We have been involved with cricket for five decades and believe this is an ideal way to give back to the sport. This will be the right opportunity for us to share our experience and help nurture the next generation of cricketers. With experienced coaches and best of facilities, the Super Kings Academy will not only provide top class coaching but also take a holistic approach in guiding boys and girls."
CSK Coach Mike Hussey said, "It is a fantastic initiative, really excited about it. I think this gives opportunities to youngsters out there to get access to some great facilities, great coaching and then hopefully improve their game and come up the ranks. It would be awesome to see a number of players coming out of these academies playing for CSK in the IPL."
Bowling coach L Balaji said, "It is a great initiative from CSK. Budding cricketers from various parts of the country will be benefitted. CSK has conducted a lot of junior level cricket tournaments (Junior Super Kings) with schools across the state. There have been a lot of cricketers who have been sent overseas for exposure. The Academy in Salem will help other districts which are nearby as well. In modern day cricket, your boundaries should not be restricted to major cities. India is a vast country with a lot of talent. I feel they deserve the exposure and that is what CSK is trying to achieve with this academy." (UNI)