Pepsodent Chennai Super Kings Juniors
The young guns scream in excitement on the final day of the selection trials of the Vijay TV Pepsodent Chennai Super Kings Juniors at the SNR Sons College grounds in the city on Sunday.All is well that ends well. True to it, the curtains for the selection trials of the Vijay TV ‘Pepsodent Chennai Super Kings Juniors’ cricket team came down on a glorious note with ten lucky boys making it to the next big grade at the SNR Sons College grounds here on Sunday. After an easy grind on Saturday, 60 boys were picked for the final showdown, which began on a rather slow pace. It gathered momentum as the day wore on with the young guns beating the heat and the rigorous tests in a rather cool and calm manner. The bowlers (33 to be precise) were tested on the accuracy point of view. They had to beat the middle stump and the five ‘point boards’ behind it to impress the selectors. And, the ones who did a fair job gained the golden chance to chat with former Indian leg spinner Laxman Sivaramakrishnan.
Popularly known as ‘Siva’, the expert bowler, besides correcting the follow through and the wrist positions, answered various queries on the technical aspects of spin bowling. He also bowled a couple of overs to the selected bunch. Those who scored the maximum runs and managed to hit the ball clean were selected for the next level. After about four hours of official skill testing, the list was pruned and announced. And the boys who made it to the next level also walked away with mini bats personally autographed by India skipper M.S. Dhoni.
Ten is not the right number for a cricket team. “We did not go by the number. We selected only the most talented,” said R. Balachandran, Vice-President, Strategic Planning & Marketing, Vijay TV, Chennai. He said the selected bunch from Tiruchi and Coimbatore would play the round robin league after the Chennai selections, scheduled to begin on March 14.
