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Devoted to cricket |
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| Sanmar a steadfast supporter of the game |
| When Jolly Rovers recently won the Tamil Nadu Cricket
Association’s senior division league title for the fourth year in
a row, it was a happy affirmation of the passionate support the game
has received from the Sanmar Group that has sponsored the team from
as far back as the 1965-66 season. |
| It all started under the stewardship of Chairman
Emeritus K S Narayanan when the parent company India Cements took
Jolly Rovers under its wing. The club had entered the first division
of the TNCA league in 1964-65. |
| After Chemplast was established in 1967, the team
came to be managed by the company, which was to become the flagship
of the Sanmar group. The infectious enthusiasm shown by the management
spurred the team to great heights with the TNCA first division league
title being won four times in the ’60s. Then there was the highly
commendable feat of a hat trick of titles in the Buchi Babu tournament. |
| Followed a relative lull in the ’70s, with the team
winning the league only twice during the decade, but glory days were
back in the ’80s. With a star-studded line-up, both Jolly Rovers in
the league and Chemplast in knockout tournaments were virtually unbeatable,
winning the league title four times, the Hindu Trophy three times,
and the inaugural editions of the Chemplast-Padasena and Indian Bank
trophies. |
| It was in the eighties that Sanmar pioneered exchanges
of visits between Tamil Nadu and Western Australia, co-sponsoring
the M G Kailis Trophy between the two states. In the inaugural year,
Tamil Nadu had won the Ranji Trophy after a gap of 32 years, and Western
Australia had just annexed the Sheffield Shield. |
| Corporate sponsorship for cricket had really
taken root by the ’90s and stiff competition in the form of
teams like Lucas TVS, SPIC and Indian Bank resulted in the decade
starting on a quiet note for the Sanmar teams. A conscious management
decision to focus on youth and potential rather than ‘star’
value while recruiting players led to a phase of consolidation
which began to yield fruit towards the end of the decade. |
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| L Balaji |
Dinesh Mongia |
Hemang Badani |
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| The new millennium began on a triumphant note and
Jolly Rovers has been on a winning spree ever since. Home grown talent
has begun to make a mark on the national and international scenes
with the likes of L Balaji and Dinesh Mongia going on to represent
India. Both have contributed hugely to Sanmar’s success in domestic
cricket, as have the very promising S Badrinath and R Ramkumar. Old
warhorse D Vasu, who, along with Sunil Subramaniam, was distinctly
unlucky not to get a call for national duty, has been a major contributor
as well. |
| Former India wicket keeper Bharat Reddy was instrumental
in reviving the team’s fortunes in the ’80s and has been playing a
key role as the team’s manager. Coach Abdul Jabbar complements Reddy’s
efforts in spotting and grooming talent, and motivating the players.
Ram Mohan Rao as assistant manager and physical trainer Padmanabhan
are the other vital cogs in the Chemplast cricket machine. Vijay Sankar
has followed in the footsteps of K S Narayanan, N Sankar and N Kumar,
offering solid support to the team. |
| Four times, Sanmar teams won both the TNCA senior
division league and The Hindu Trophy in the same season. (The league
could not be completed in 2002-03, when also, Jolly Rovers was in
a commanding position). |
| “Our family, I would submit, holds the record in
terms of sustained long term sponsorship of a team in the Madras league
and the other tournaments - an unbroken record from the early ’60s
till today,” says N Sankar, Chairman, who, along with his brother
N Kumar has sustained the interest over the years. |
| Sanmar is today reaping the rewards for the careful
thought that has gone into the recruitment of the right mix of players
and trainers, and provision of world class practice facilities. |
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