The inaugural edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League 2016 is set to get underway in few hours. In the first match of the tournament, the home team Chepauk Super Gillies will take on the Albert Tuti Patriots at the MA Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai.
There are few cricketers who go into the TNPL with some IPL experience and one among them is the skipper of the home team, Rajagopal Sathish. Sathish is the perfect example for an all-rounder as he can contribute with the bat, pitch in with some overs with the ball and is electrifying in the field.
Sathish has represented Mumbai Indians, Kings XI Punjab and Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL and was also a part of the Chennai Superstars team in the Indian Cricket League. Sportskeeda caught up with the veteran T20 cricketer R Sathish ahead of the tournament.
Here are the excerpts:
Question: The Tami Nadu cricket team haven’t won the Ranji Trophy for 28 years. It has been a concern when it comes to the pace bowling department as the state is struggling to produce quality pacers. Do you think whether the TNPL will help TN to end the title drought and find a new pace bowling sensation?
Sathish: Yes, definitely. The motive behind the tournament is to help TN find some good talents to perform in the Ranji Trophy and other tournaments. The introduction of TNPL is something that’s a blessing in disguise for the budding cricketers in the state. Tamil Nadu is one among the very few states that conduct a tournament like this.
TN have a decent talent pool when it comes to pace bowling, but the bowlers are struggling to deliver on the big stage because of the pressure. This tournament will help them overcome the issues and give them a lot of confidence going into the future.
Q: Having played in the IPL, how can you relate TNPL with it?
Sathish: Everyone is being treated like how the teams are treated in the IPL. Every team plays as a unit and has coaches, Assistant coaches, Physios, trainers and masseurs etc. The league might not be on par with the IPL when it comes to the flamboyance, but the players will give their 100% to make it a grand success.
Q: The TNPL has former international cricketers (Michael Bevan, Brett Lee and Lance Klusener) coaching the teams, while your team has former Indian cricketer and Tamil Nadu captain Hemang Badani as a coach. He is someone who knows the TN cricket fraternity inside out. How does it feel to have someone like Badani in your team? How his experience of knowing the players did come in while picking the team?
Sathish: He has done a fantastic job in picking the perfect team. The team has the right mixture of youth and experience. Anthony Dhas had a very good season and we have seasoned campaigners in V Yo Mahesh, Thalaivan Sargunam and Vasanth Saravanan. Having Badani, someone who came up the TN ranks to play for India as a coach is something special.
He knows what it takes to play for India and can motivate the players. Having a coach with a lesser age difference helps the team gel well going into a tournament like this. He has been batting, bowling and fielding alongside the players. It always helps the youngsters to show how it is done by getting into the act and that’s exactly what Badani is doing for us.
Q: Being Chepauk Super Gillies’ most experienced batsman, what can we expect from you in the TNPL? What is your target going into the tournament?
Sathish: Performing well is something which I always want to do. I always look forward to giving my best to the team. I always prefer winning matches for my team rather than thinking about myself.
Q: Unfortunately, there is no team from Chennai in the IPL till the end of next season. Do you think Chepauk Super Gillies will give the fans something to cheer about for the fans in Chennai? What message do you have for the fans?
Sathish: Cheer for us. We will deliver what you expect from us in the TNPL.
Q: You are regarded as one of India’s finest fielders and Jonty Rhodes hailed you as India’s best fielder. According to you, what does it take to be a good fielder?
Sathish: Fielding is something that came naturally to me. When I joined the Chennai league as a youngster, I was working with Robin Singh, the greatest fielder India has produced. Working with him has helped me a lot.
I always like to field as it is the area where you can contribute a lot to the team. A catch is for the bowler and a run-out is for the team. Fielding is one thing that’s always for the team and I like to do that.
Q: Your team has a lot of players who are relatively new to the TN cricket fraternity. How easy/difficult was it for the younger guys to mingle in a group that has seniors like you, Mahesh, Sargunam and Saravanan? Were there any team bonding sessions?
Sathish: There is nothing like juniors/seniors in our team. We all hang out together. We all went to movies and dinners as a team, had some get together etc. We have a lot of fun times together. We train together every day and there hasn’t been a single absentee so far, which says a lot about the team bonding. In fact, the juniors are out-performing the seniors when it comes to these things.
Q: Can we expect few names from the TNPL to represent any IPL franchise/India in the future? If yes, can you please name some players?
Sathish: 100%. There will be players from TNPL who will represent an IPL team/India in the future because we have a lot of talented cricketers and the fans will witness them for the next three weeks. As far as the names are concerned, I can keep telling a lot of names from all the eight teams. As I said, the people will be witnessing them for the next few days.
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