Kalli appointed CSK Director

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Former Chemplast man gets into the Board of CSK Ltd.,

One of the best fast bowlers that Tamil Nadu has had and the first fast bowler to take a hat-trick in Ranji Trophy, 68 year old B Kalyanasundaram (http://prtraveller.blogspot.in/2011/08/kalli-b-kalyanasundaram.html)has now been inducted into the Board of Directors of CSK Ltd. The letter of appointment was signed this Monday.

This follows his five year stint as the Chairman of the TN State Selection committee that ended last year. He was also a match referee of the BCCI.

The appointment comes at a time when the fate of CSK and the future ownership of India Cements is not clear. Recently, India Cements announced the hiving off of CSK into a separate subsidiary to be owned by the shareholders of India Cements, of which MD N Srinivasan is also a significant shareholder.

This assumes special significance given that Kalyanasundaram was an employee of rivals Chemplast for many years till his retirement as Vice President. He had also played for Jolly Rovers (Chemplast's First Division League Team) for many years in the 60s and 70s. Kalli was handpicked by Sankar in the 1960s and given an employment even before he had received his degree certificate.

Kalli was the first TN fast bowler to play 50 Ranji matches and the first to take 100 Ranji wickets.He was also the first South Zone Player to take a hat-trick in Ranji Trophy and the first bowler to take a hat-trick in a Ranji Final. 

This move into the CSK Board is not sudden. NS has watched him bowl right from his college days. And he was an integral part of the Venkat led TN team right through the 1970s.

Significant Achievement
It is significant achievement for the top grade Engineer (REC) who spent his early schooling years in the temple town of Kumbakonam. Since his retirement from the corporate world, he has taken slow but fundamentally strong steps back into the cricketing world. He first became a selector in the Junior age group and then moved upwards over a period of time in the last decade.

He would watch a number of matches through the year to spot upcoming talent in the age group tournaments. As a state selector, for years one always found him at one ground or the other watching the first division league at the beginning of each season in Madras.

Kalli also was inducted into the panel of BCCI's match referees and received an year's extension as well (after he had reached the age of retirement).

Despite criticism from the inner cricketing circles (sometimes justifiably and sometimes not so) in TN on his role as a selector and a match referee, including being seen as just nodding to some of the 'cricketing decisions' and even if he is now seen as NS' man, Kalyanasundaram's induction this week into the CSK Board is a just reward for his long and committed service to TN cricket dating back to the 1960s and his continued association with the game.