We missed CSK for one year, but yellow shirt will be back: N Srinivasan

India One-Day Internationals (ODI) captain MS Dhoni unveiled the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TN Premier League) Trophy at the ITC Grand Chola, Chennai, on Thursday. In a glitzy ceremony held at the ITC Grand Chola, the TN Premier League logo was unveiled with India Cements as the Title Sponsor. The eight teams were introduced along with its captains and logos.

The event also saw an entertaining performance from ‘Illuminati’ to introduce the teams and the tournament logo. In attendance were Hyderabad Cricket Association President Arshad Ayub, Haryana Cricket Association President Anirudh Chaudhry, Kerala Cricket Association President TC Mathew and Biswarup Dey, Treasurer, Cricket Association of Bengal.

Dhoni started off proceedings by lighting the lamp, and this was followed by a welcome address from PS Raman, Chairman, India Cements TN Premier League. The trophy was then unveiled by Dhoni, with Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) President N Srinivasan and Raman by his side. Dhoni then addressed the crowd and thanked the owners for coming on board for the India Cements TN Premier League. “I would like to thank the franchise owners and sponsors without whom such a set-up wouldn’t have started. This is the most important factor for a tournament to be successful. There are others as well, but owners are important, who back the players and help the tournament to begin,” he said.

Also read – Ravindra Jadeja’s sister files a complaint of cheating

Dhoni also spoke about how the India Cements TN Premier League will play its part in motivating youngsters. Tournament like these in a way will promote cricket. “It will take cricket to a lot of cities which are not used to watching big games. There are a lot of day/night games planned, something that will encourage youngsters to come up and say — ‘I want to play there, I want to be a part of the team.’ All these small motivations really helps players to become big in life. Once you are a part of a team that is playing, you will want to represent your state (TNCA) and then the ultimate aim — to play for the country. It will act as a motivational booster for the youngsters,” he said.

Srinivasan then expressed his gratitude to Dhoni for gracing the evening. “When we wanted to have a function to unveil the trophy, the most fitting person to do the honours was MS Dhoni. What fills our hearts is the fact that in spite of his preoccupations, he has found the time. When we were able to reach him, he said yes. True to his word, he has turned up on time,” Srinivasan said. Referring to the Chennai Super Kings, he said, “Unfortunately, we missed it for one year, we might miss it for another year, but yellow shirt will be back.”

“With TN Premier League, we aim to unearth real talent from different corners of Tamil Nadu and if we will be able to nurture at least one Dhoni from this league, we would be successful,” Raman said. KS Viswanathan, the secretary of the TNCA, said, “Thanks for the messages received from the Cricket Association of Bengal President, Mr Sourav Ganguly, Niranjan Shah from Saurashtra (Cricket Association), Amitabh Choudhary from Jharkhand (Cricket Association) and others who have sent congratulatory messages from other associations.”