Chepauk Super Gillies coach Hemang Badani and captain R Sathish addressed the media ahead of their first game in the second season of the India Cements Tamil Nadu Premier League
How have your practice sessions gone ahead of this season?
Badani: We haven’t got as much time to train as we did last year. But it’s fair and the same for everyone, so I can’t complain nor can any other side. I would have liked a little more time (for the boys to train), but we’re trying to make the most of it. We missed one session on Wednesday due to rains but we’ve got another one starting now.
What is your strategy for this season?
Badani: We don’t think too far ahead. Even last year, we didn’t start the first game by thinking we will win the whole tournament or that we’ll reach the final. We try and take it one game at a time. We try and give everything on that day and the rest is as it comes by. We all give our 100 per cent on that given day.
Did the availability of outstation players hamper your pre-season planning in any way?
All teams may have gone back to the drawing board and made plans. At the end of the day, if it’s not happening, it’s not happening. We actually had a good tournament last year. We played great cricket and our games included a Super Over and you can’t ask for more. I hope the bar will be higher this year.
How do you pick yourself up after losing a tough final at the end of a great season?
Badani: That’s gone now, it was one year ago and we had a terrible day. It’s easier to forget those matches because we were outplayed. I would say we didn’t play to our potential. It hurts you more when you have put in the hard yards. But they (Albert TuTi Patriots) scored more than 200 and clearly outplayed us, so it’s easy to get over that. We didn’t turn up that day and had one bad day. I still believe we had a good side on the park; we were probably as good as them if not better than them but on that day they played better and deserved to win the championship.
Has your batting been strengthened this season?
Badani: We have a balanced side. We have got quite a few all-rounders. Our captain is an all-rounder. Yo Mahesh and Anthony Dhas also bat and bowl. So we have three decent guys who can bat and bowl. That’s a fair amount of players who can fill both the roles, so I’m pleased by the way our side has been picked and the way we are shaping up now.
After having played in the IPL, how was your experience in the TNPL?
Sathish: It was really great; we didn’t expect that the TNPL would be such a great hit. Now the expectations have risen and every team has prepared well. Last season, people were confused and excited looking at the huge crowds and it was a full house for almost all the games. This time it will be more interesting and we look forward to playing some good cricket.
What do you have to say to the fans?
Sathish: Please continue to support us like you did last season. We will play good cricket even this time.
How will you rectify the mistakes you made last time?
Sathish: Those kinds of mistakes happen only rarely. Unfortunately for us, it happened in the final. We will stay positive and keep working hard. This is a new tournament and everyone is fresh and ready for a new season. All the teams are strong this season and have a professional set up. They have all prepared with video analysis, so every team has weaknesses, strengths and strategies at their disposal.
What are your thoughts on increasing the games in the districts this season? Would you like to see more district venues?
Satish: Definitely, we would like to play at more venues. It would be a great exposure for everyone. We can’t expect people from the districts to come to Chennai to watch all the games. If they have an opportunity to watch a game in their district it is going to boost cricket in Tamil Nadu. After the TNPL we have seen that the Tamil Nadu was able to win a lot of trophies last season, so it’s a great exposure for everyone. Fans are expecting a good game.
Badani: Once you have three venues going you will have some guy turning up from a small town who goes on to play for the IPL. In some time you could even have someone from a district as well making a break into the Indian team. If we go deeper and deeper we could find talent from the districts and they could go on to play for the national side. It’s a good thing that the game is going to all parts of the State and is not city-centric.
