Photo Credit: Instagram Photo of @superkingsacad
There was a vibrant display of Caribbean flair at the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) Academy nets facility on Monday, located at the SRMC campus in Chennai.
The visiting West Indies Academy batters, currently undergoing a two-week intensive training camp, showcased their attacking game with a variety of shots, including reverse and paddle sweeps, against the CSK Academy spinners. The young bowlers responded skillfully, using variations in pace and flight to create challenges, resulting in mistimed shots and broken stumps.
Seven U-25 cricketers from the West Indies, including internationally capped players Kirk McKenzie and Jewel Andrew, were accompanied by West Indies Academy head coach Ramesh Subasinghe and assistant coach Rohan Nurse for the spin-focused camp.
“The camp has been really good. I’d like to thank CSK for extending the opportunity for our young players to come and develop here. It shows their commitment to developing the global game,” Subasinghe told Sportstar.
“We are having good discussions here, getting to hear different voices, different methods, which our boys can absorb and then find their own method with that input, “ he added.
Subasinghe highlighted the unique conditions, including red and black soil pitches and diverse spinners, which the players don’t encounter in the Caribbean. He added, “For us, it [the camp] was more about the conditions… We’ve seen every [type of] spinner that we had to see. We don’t get that in the Caribbean.”
CSK Academy head coach Sriram Krishnamurthy emphasized the mutual benefits of the collaboration, noting that the camp provides local players an opportunity to learn from international talent while offering the visitors exposure to diverse cricketing conditions. “What we can provide through these sorts of trips is an exposure for our players to learn off international cricketers… So, I think it’s a win-win from both ends,” he remarked.
Subasinghe, who became head coach of the West Indies Academy in April, described the camp as part of a broader initiative to develop cricket talent in the region. He stressed the importance of a holistic development approach and noted the absence of a state-of-the-art high-performance facility in the West Indies.
The West Indies Academy operates alongside the Combined Campuses and Colleges team as developmental sides within the domestic circuit, complementing the six regular regional teams. Subasinghe pointed out the need for a stronger development wing in domestic cricket, which is currently performance-focused.
The camp included a two-day game where batters were tasked with batting 150 overs daily, challenging them to adapt to the heat, humidity, and spin-friendly conditions. “Having to counter the heat and humidity with the spinning ball and the pitches that are cracking, that’s something new for us,” Subasinghe noted.
Sriram added that playing long innings in such conditions would be a key takeaway for the visitors. “We said the challenge we are giving here is to bat 150-160 overs… These opportunities are for them to get game smart, get more ideas around what it may be to bat against different sorts of spin,” he said.
This collaborative effort between the CSK Academy and the West Indies Academy underscores the commitment to fostering global cricket development while enriching the skills of players on both sides.
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Name of Author: Cricexec Staff
