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Chemplast still swears by
cricket |
by Ashok Venugopal
Chennai, Nov. 28 |
| Over the years, the senior division league of the
Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has become a major platform
for players aspiring for a place in the National side. The league,
apart from being highly competitive, offers cricketers handsome pay
packages. |
| Jolly Rovers, which won the Rajah of Palayampatti
Shield (first division championship) for the fourth consecutive time,
is promoted by the Chemplast Group. Apart from skipper Hemang K Badani,
the team has in its ranks players like Dinesh Mongia, Sujith Somasundar,
S Badrinath, Kulamani Parida, Ajay Kudua, R Ramkumar and Munaf Patel.
Former Indian wicket-keeper Bharath Reddy is the administrative manager,
while state cricketer Abdul Jabbar is the chief coach. K Ram Mohan
Rao is the assistant manager. |
| Chemplast is one of the few companies in Chennai
recruiting a host of current and former cricketers on a regular basis.
The driving force behind the group’s sporting activities is Vijay
Sankar (Director) and his sports-loving family comprising N Sankar
(father and the group’s chairman) and N Kumar (uncle and vice-chairman).
“We are a family deeply interested in sports, particularly cricket
and tennis. Years back, my grandfather K S Narayanan began sponsoring
Jolly Rovers and we stick to the tradition,” says Vijay. “We have
both current and former players working in our organisation. We pick
an active player based on the rating by Reddy, Jabbar and Rao. The
player is picked as per the team’s requirement, and not for effect,”
says Vijay on the company’s sports policy. “A player may be taken
and paid on a match-to-match, temporary (couple of months) or permanent
basis based on his availability,” says Vijay adding that there are
no standard payment rates. Bharath Reddy elaborates on the basis of
remuneration, “pay packs for a Ranji cricketer may not be the same
for a Test cricketer. Likewise, a school or college cricketer will
certainly be paid less than an established cricketer.” “We are open
to taking youngsters even in the under-17 or under-19 outfits (Jolly
Rovers or Alwarpet CC) based on the team’s needs. I don’t like the
idea of strict remuneration for school children, though we could pay
them a stipend and provide them the accessories,” says Vijay. The
group discusses the annual sports budget, before recruitments. “To
begin with, we may pay a school or college boy playing on part-time
basis something like Rs.1500 or Rs.2000 a month. Established players
get a five-figure package. This could be more or less, with every
passing year depending on the budget,” adds Vijay. However, market
sources indicate that on an average that top players in each team
of the league earn between Rs.15,000 to Rs.40,000 a month. With a
short career-span, the modern-day cricketer has to constantly brave
the uncertainty which hangs over his future. “When a player’s days
are over, may be when he is 35 or 40, we give him an option to join
our organisation mainstream, based on his utility to the organisation
and not cricketing merit,” says Vijay, citing Bharath Reddy who made
the transition from player to administrator. |
| Reproduced with permission from The New Indian
Express. |
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| The current Jolly Rovers Cricket Club
team, TNCA First Division league champions for the fourth year
in succession. |
| Standing (L-R): K Ram Mohan Rao, Assistant Manager,
Shankar, R Ramkumar, J Harish, S Badrinath, Vikram Kumar, K
Parida, Padmanabhan, Physical Trainer and Abdul Jabbar, Coach. |
| Sitting (L-R): Dinesh Mongia, Bharat Reddy, Manager,
N Kumar, N Sankar, Vijay Sankar, Hemang Badani (Captain), Sujith
Somasundar. |
| Squatting (L-R): Karthick, Ajay Kudua, Tamil
Kumaran and Sriram. |
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