RS Ramaswamy TNCA Secretary

He was on the verge of making his debut for TN Juniors at the age of 21 but Jaundice kept him out of the tournament and soon after his brother’s untimely death ended his cricketing ambitions

In this 2nd innings in cricket, this rank outsider from Salem was handpicked by N Srinivasan for the responsible post of TNCA Secretary that he served during one of the most challenging times

He was a late starter in cricket and got into serious mode only during his three year college phase in Coimbatore. His performances in the districts matches got him into the TN Junior squad when he was 21 but struck by Jaundice he made his way to the hospital instead of the cricket ground. He came back strong with ambitions of playing Ranji cricket but soon after, his elder brother died in a road accident. Responsibility of family business cut short his playing career. In his 2nd innings in cricket he has donned the role of an administrator for close to four decades. Impressed with his professional approach, N Srinivasan handpicked him as the Secretary of the TNCA and he led the association creditably during the Pandemic and after. With his term as the secretary of the TNCA coming to an end this Saturday, he will take his first administrative break from cricket in almost 40 years. Here is the story.

Manning the Score Board

Hailing from Salem, RS Ramaswamy spent his early childhood playing tennis. While he did not play serious cricket till into his mid teens, he did watch every big cricket match in Salem and was a regular at the Pongal test in Madras right from his early schooling days. In the match that Michael Dalvi made that big hundred in Salem (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/09/michael-dalvi-gopalan-trophy-salem.html), Ramaswamy remembers him as a 16 year old taking care of the score board at the ground. He also recalls AG Satvinder Singh (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/04/satvinder-singh75.html) hitting the Andhra spinner out of the ground in the Ranji match in 1975  in what he says was the biggest six in Salem!!!

It was only after he turned 15 that he began to play serious cricket under coach SA Narayanan, who also coached the new BCCI President Roger Binny, a student of Montford school in Salem. His big turnaround happened after he moved to Coimbatore for his Collegiate education. Those three years was a golden phase in his playing career. 

Aged 19, he scored 80 on debut against Trichy and a century against Niligris playing for Salem Seniors. He scored a match winning century against the touring Chemplast in a tournament final in Salem. “Immediately, Vijayakumar extended an invitation to play for MCC in Madras along with prestigious membership” Ramaswamy told this writer.

He had a special liking for good bats and through his playing days, he used Duncan Fearnley, a dream for district cricketers in those days. He also used Gray Nichols and Gun & Moore.

Two good seasons got him into the Junior State team and he was set to make his debut when just ahead of the trip, he was struck with Jaundice and hospitalized. He recalls that moment “In those days, there were minimal opportunities for districts cricketers to showcase their talent. Getting into the Junior State team was the stepping stone to playing for the Senior State team. I had been in good form for two seasons and was confident of scaling the cricketing ladder. I nourished ambitions at that time of playing Ranji cricket for TN. But this (Jaundice) was a terrible blow and I lost a big opportunity to make the leap into the next level in cricket.”

“If I had played Junior cricket, my cricketing life could have changed but it was not to be.”

Unfortunately, a second blow in that phase ended his cricket career a year later. His elder brother died in a road accident and Ramaswamy had to manage the family restaurant business in Salem “The sudden death of my brother meant that I had to let go my cricketing ambitions and focus on our family business.’

He continued to play for Salem in the inter districts tourneys. He along with his brother had started a cricket club in the early 1970s and named it as Tiger CC after their all time favourite cricketer MAK ‘Tiger’ Pataudi. He captained Tiger CC to a first division title.

Sukumar who played his early cricket in Salem before moving to SVPB, Udumalpet was closely associated from the Salem days and recalls Ramaswamy from the 1970s “I knew Ramaswamy, his late elder brother Ramachandran and their family from my childhood. We played street cricket together. He would discuss a lot about the game and the leading players of the time.  He was very promising as a cricketer and knowledgeable in cricketing aspects. As a player, he played with a straight bat.”

By this time, there had been some interesting developments. His high cricketing passion led him into cricket administration even while he was playing and he was inducted into the executive committee of the Salem District Cricket Association. After his playing days, he went on to become the Secretary of the association, a position that he held for two decades. During his phase as the Secretary of SDCA, the AGM had been held every single year before the 31st of May.

At the annual day celebrations of the TNCA on Nov 5, Roger Binny complimented the SDCA 'It was very well run and they gave me great early exposure. I was enjoying my cricket so much that if my father had not taken me back to Bangalore, I may have ended up playing Ranji cricket for TN."

A surprise call from the TNCA

Just ahead of the Pandemic, he got a call from former TNCA VP and CEO of CSK KS Viswanathan “I was in Salem and he asked me to come to the TNCA. I had been a convener of the Districts Secretaries forum and I assumed it was something to do with Districts cricket.”

When he landed in Madras, he was in for a surprise. N Srinivasan had been looking for a reliable and hardworking person as the Secretary, one who could keep the flock together. He invited Ramaswamy to be the Secretary "It was out of the blue, completely unexpected and took me by surprise. A huge responsibility had been bestowed on me. I was touched by the trust he had on my abilities.”

Ramaswamy became the first man from the Districts to don the role of the Secretary of the TNCA.

Appa’s life message comes into play

It was a hugely challenging task. At the time of taking over as the Secretary, Ramaswamy remembered the two life messages his appa had handed to him during his teenage years “Making money is incidental, be honest in everything you do. That’s the way we should live our life.” 

“Never hurt anyone in life” was the other message he received from his appa and that served well during his term as the Secretary of the TNCA. With so much revenue flowing into the TNCA, he knew it was a hot seat and a tricky position but managed to stay away from controversies. His people management skills came to the fore. He was clear in his approach “No one should point a finger at me in the way I discharged my duties and every single team mate should look forward to meeting me in the future long after I was gone from the post.” 

Big Moments

Three years went by in a flash especially with him having to manage during the Pandemic. During his term MAC B receive a complete facelift. Resting areas, rest rooms and permanent sight screen became a new feature at MAC B. All the wickets were re-laid. He worked closely with MCC to sort out some of the old issues. Getting them to agree on the demolition and reconstruction at Chepauk was a big achievement. The entire stadium will be repainted. A cricket museum, cafeteria and a super store is on the anvil. The VIP boxes will have a new look. A conducted tour of the ground will be an integral feature in the future.

Conducting back to back test matches at Chepauk during the Pandemic (something that had never been done earlier), organizing ten IPL matches with the highest safeguards for Covid and spreading TNPL to four new grounds gave him a great deal of satisfaction “We carried out over 8000 Covid tests and only one came out positive. ICC was so impressed with our bubble maintenance that they reached out to us to seek tips.”

KS Viswanathan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/02/ks-viswanathan-tnca-bcci-ipl.html) is all praise for the contribution of Ramaswamy in this challenging phase. He told this writer “As the Secretary, Ramaswamy was responsible for the reopening of the I, J and K stands after 8 years and major repair works were undertaken. The new stadium with a pavilion was constructed during his tenure. He was closely associated with the implementation of the 3rd phase of construction of the stadium which is almost complete.”

"He had good rapport with the BCCI officials and ensured a healthy relationship with them. He was a calm and an efficient Secretary. Most importantly, he was liked by all the members of the TNCA. Since he had completed 8 years in office bearers post he could not continue for the next term of 3 years."

Batting with Sourav

He says he was blessed to have had the opportunity to meet and interact with TN cricketing legends and the India cricketers during his term as the Secretary. Earlier this year, he played in an exhibition match between President’s XI and Secretary’s XI at the Motera Stadium “It was the first time I played under lights and with the white ball. It was a delight to bat alongside Sourav Ganguly and be involved in a good partnership.”

He also experienced playing at the iconic Eden Gardens.

Former Ranji off spinner and Secretary of MUC M Santosh Kumar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/06/m-santosh-kumar-iob-tn-ica.html) has been vocal at the TNCA meetings in recent times raising issues quite vociferously. He has seen several Secretaries in the TNCA during his 50+years in cricket and rates Ramaswamy among the best "He is a Gem of a person and a Gentlemen to the Core. He handled all the issues with a Smile. He showed extraordinary skill & ability to run the TNCA without any issues especially when there was no President for a while."

"I really felt happy to be associated with him in the Apex council. He gave me a free hand to talk about cricket development issues  and benefits to Cricketers & Support staff. He gave me a patient hearing. He approved without any hesitation the suggestion of a fee hike to Umpires and additional financial benefits to Selectors"

"I rate Ramaswamy as the best next to Kasi Viswanathan. He ran the show very meticulously and systematically and was a great administrator."

Districts Cricket Infrastructure

With an eye on improving the infrastructure in the districts, Ramaswamy roped in his big network in Salem to invest into a huge cricketing infrastructure on the outskirts of Salem. With just five phone calls, he got old Salem mates to invest in buying out the land for the Cricket Stadium. It was due to his initiative that the Salem Cricket Foundation was built on 22 acres of land, one with an 85 meters boundary. It is here that Super Kings Academy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/10/super-kings-academy-mega-expansion-plans.html) was launched earlier this summer “It was a big dream come true. We have invested in the best cricket equipment at the stadium. 300-400 cars can be parked.”

Already U19, U22 and city v districts matches have taken place here in addition to the TNPL matches.

He was a rank outsider and much against the odds was elevated to the post of Secretary of one of India’s most prestigious cricket associations. Aged 64, Ramaswamy has been involved with cricket administration for close to four decades without a break. When he steps down this Saturday (Nov 5), he would leave behind for his successors at the TNCA strong finances with all compliance issues sorted out that would allow them to focus on pure cricketing activities. His pet project -The Salem Cricket Foundation - will be his cricket connect in the immediate term. His big regret was the inability of the TN team to succeed in Ranji cricket. He has a parting message for the TNCA “We need to play the first division matches on neutral venues and have independent TNCA curators prepare the pitch. That will pave the way for success in Ranji cricket.”

Super Kings Academy Mega Expansion Plans

Super Kings Academy plans to open 100 coaching centers in 5 years

Opportunities to open up for 800 coaches to work at the academy 

Could become the first city based academy to set up an overseas center in the UK

Super Kings Academy (SKA), run by Super Kings Ventures Pvt. Ltd., is planning the biggest cricket coaching academy expansion in the country. The academy which launched with two centers in Chennai and Salem in April this year is embarking on a mega expansion programme. SKA plans to open at least a 100 centers in the country through the franchise route. The academy is also planning a center in the UK. 

 

In January this year, this section had featured a story on the Chennai and Hyderabad plans of  'Coaching Beyond', an initiative of Bharat Arun, Ravi Shastri and R Sridhar (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/01/b-arun-ipl-son-adithya-coaching-academy.html).

But this one - Super Kings Academy- with its financial strength and through franchise partnerships  is likely to bring in scale in the immediate term that one has not seen in TN in the past.  Former first division cricketer Louis Mariano, who is anchoring the academy on the ground, told this writer that within the first six months of the launch, over 400 students have signed up in the two centers. "By March next year, we would have opened coaching centers in at least another four locations including Hosur, Tirunelveli and Trichy. As we go forward, we will also be setting our sights outside the state."

Takes up 8 new clubs in the TNCA league

To providing opportunities to play in the TNCA league, eight Clubs have been taken up this season with students from SKA centers in Chennai and Salem already having begun to play for these clubs at the start of the new league season. 

CSK, which has over the last 14years been using the nets facilities at Chepauk, is setting a huge state of the art own practice facility in Navalur that is likely to be fully functional next year. And the best of the students from SKA could also get access to this facility and to practising with the CSK legends.

Overseas Exposure

With CSK's global network, the students at SKA are likely to get a lot of international exposure. Before end of December, Super Kings Academy is set to host two overseas teams – one from the UK and another from South Africa. “Playing against these overseas clubs will be a first of its kind experience that kids in the city have not experienced so far. This is a big differentiator for us” says Louis.

CSK players interact with SKA students

CSK CEO KS Viswanathan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2015/02/ks-viswanathan-tnca-bcci-ipl.html), who himself had emerged as a cricketer from Tirunelveli in the 1970s, said that the focus will be on expanding the coaching network in Tier 2 and 3 locations and to improve the cricketing infrastructure in the districts. The possibility of CSK cricketers visiting the camp at regular intervals will be a positive influence on the students at the SKA, he said "CSK cricketers including Ruturaj Gaekwad, Deepak Chahar, Robin Uthappa and Mukesh Choudhary have already visited the camp in recent months and that has given a lot of confidence to the students." 

A former Ranji cricketer who is in the real estate space said that there was word out in the market to identify a house for MS Dhoni in Chennai, an indication that the legend could made the city his second home. If that happens, it will be great news for the SKA students for that could then throw up opportunities for interaction with him.

New Head Coach

KSV had told this writer that S Sharath (ATG Sharath), J Gokulakrishnan (who also developed the coaching manual), former TN Ranji Captain S Suresh and Sreekumar Nair had been playing a pivotal role in coaching in the initial phase in the first six months of the launch sharing their knowledge with the students. 

As each of these former Ranji cricketers are engaged in larger roles at the BCCI, Louis had told this writer that the academy was looking for a Head Coach. Even as the fire crackers went out, he confirmed on the eve of Deepavali that the coach has been shortlisted and an official appointment was likely to take place shortly but he could not reveal the name of the head coach.

It is likely that the Head Coach will be one about whom this section has featured many stories over the last decade!!!

A decade ago, it was unlikely any academy in Chennai would have dreamt of a 100 cricket coaching centers in India but SKA with its brand is aiming big and with CSK's IPL success, it will be a go to center for many of the teenagers who have IPL as their big dream.  If the country wide plan is anything to go by, there could be tens of thousands of students getting coached across the country at SKA in the next five years. And this could throw up opportunities for as many as 800 cricket coaches across the country. That will be a big job creation in the cricket space that did not exist at the turn of the new century.

SRJ Egmore Excelsiors 75Years TNCA

SR Jagannathan's Egmore Excelsiors Completes 75 years - Son Parthasarathy presents Commemorative Bat and Ball to N Srinivasan 

First Division runner up Trophy to be named after SRJ, Best U19 cricketers to get 'SRJ Straight Bat' every year

On Monday (Oct 17) evening, the former TNCA and BCCI President N Srinivasan was seen in cricket action taking the role of a batsman. Treasurer of the TNCA J Parthasarathy who had led Egmore Excelsiors in his playing days had been keen to celebrate the 75th anniversary last year but could not do so due to the Pandemic restrictions. 

Parthasarathy’s appa SR Jagannathan along with his close friend JC Mohan, had started Egmore Excelsiors in 1946 bringing together a bunch of enthusiastic cricket loving youngsters to play in the TNCA league. SRJ as he was popularly known in the cricket circles was just 20 years old when he launched the club. The family resided in Egmore for several decades and that was probably a reason for him to name the club as ‘Egmore Excelsiors’, says J Parthasarathy. 

In memory of his appa, he has brought out a commemorative series of cricket bats and balls to celebrate the 75th year of starting Egmore Excelsiors Cricket Club. Parthasarathy presented the SRJ bat, a red cricket ball and a white cricket ball to NS. CEO of CSK KS Viswanathan (CSK CEO KSV) was also present on the occasion. The logo and design (an umpire signaling a six!!!) of the stickers on the bat have been done by Parthasarathy’s son and daughter.

SRJ missed out on Ranji

J Parthasarathy recalls the 1950s when his appa came close to making a Ranji Debut “He was a dour batsman who did not get out and a leg spinner. One could hear the ball zip in the air after the release. While he came very close to a Ranji debut, he could not break through into the XI. But there were quite a few others from the club like Sarangapani, Balakrishnan, Krishnamurthy and Arul Das who did make it into the Ranji team.”

Later, former Ranji Trophy winning captain and now Chairman of TN Selectors S Vasudevan (Ranji Captain Vasudevan) and TN left hand batsman from the 1980s R Madhavan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2020/10/r-madhavan-tn-cricketer-1980s.html)were closely associated as teenage cricketers with SRJ and his club.

Was fearless in his actions

The Rajah of Pudukottai played for the club in the TNCA league when he was in the peak of his powers. J Parthasarathy remembers his appa narrating an incident from a league match ‘When my appa cut short Rajah’s bowling spell, he wanted to go to the deep field, in anger. My appa asked him to go to third man!!!’

Unfortunately a motor cycle accident led to SRJ’s cricketing career being cut short on the field. However for the next five decades or so till his death a decade ago, he was active at the TNCA and fought for club members’ interests right through. He was fearless, worked selflessly and was a fighter all the way, says J Parthasarathy.

A role in Annadurai's appointment

In the late 1980s, he mobilized the club members and called for a special general body meeting to and discuss and pitch for the appointment of Annadurai as the Secretary. A year later, Annadurai was appointed.

TNCA Tamasha in his cricket magazine

Just before the turn of the century, he launched ‘Straight Bat’, a cricket magazine that included a ‘TNCA Tamasha’ section providing insights on the happenings at the association.

SRJ fought for club members’ cause and was the one responsible for getting a free lunch during international matches at Chepauk that till then had been available only for select people. He was also the one who got the members the cark park at the stadium, which again until then had been at a premium. Rain Water Harvesting at Chepauk was another initiative that he was closely associated with.

He was the one who suggested that the gates at TNCA be named after AG Ram Singh and MJ Gopalan.

TNCA meetings - Record attendance

SRJ attended a record 60 consecutive general body meetings at the TNCA. He was also known for coming up with long lists for these meetings and many a time the meeting went into the 2nd day. When J Parthasarathy presented the bat to N Srinivasan at the 10th floor office of India Cements on Monday, CSK’s owner made a remark “Your appa would keep us locked in the meeting room for two days”!!!

SRJ Straight Bat to Best U19 cricketers

In memory of his appa, Parthasarathy has come forward  to offer the ‘SRJ Straight Bat’ to the Best U19 City, District and Schools cricket every year. The first of the presentations will be made at TNCA’s annual day celebrations next month.

SRJ had made a significant contribution to the TNCA and the runner up trophy in the first division league is being named after him. 

J Parthasarathy, whose three year term as the Treasurer of the TNCA is ending soon, is also hoping to give these high quality ‘SRJ’ bats to deserving young batsmen at very affordable prices.

Banker N Muralidharan Promoting Prabhandham and Vedic Learning

Converting a Crisis into a Devotional Opportunity

He made a significant financial investment selling all his shares to build a Learning Center Prabhandham and Vedas after Vardah damaged his house

The Vedic Group have recited Achidram 219 Ekadasis without a break and are now reciting Ashwamedham as well every Ekadasi over the last year

When the Vardah Cyclone hit Madras in December 2016, the ancient house of former Syndicate Bank and Repco Home Finance staffer N Muralidharan in T Nagar was falling off and it necessitated a reconstruction. He had been involved in learning and recital of Divya Prabhandham for the previous 15years. 

Driven by devotion, he decided to build a hall as part of the reconstruction, one that would be completely dedicated to the recital of the sacred verses and to students learning these.

When Andavan Ashramam announced the commencement of the Divya Prabhandham class at its center on Desikachari Road in Mylapore in 2003 soon after Muralidharan took voluntary retirement, he joined along with 300 others. His devotional commitment to learning was so high that he was one of only 10odd devotees to stay through the full length of the course till 2010 and get certified by acharya Thiruvahindrapuram Kannan.

Muralidharan  says that his Prabhandham acharya was outstanding. Even today, a dozen years after completion,  the way he presented the pillaianthaathi verses is fresh in my memory and is like nectar to us.

Soon after the Prabhandham course, he began learning the Vedas first from Navalpakkam Varadachari and then over the last decade from Kuruchi Lakshmi Narasimha Swami. 

A Damaged House into a Learning Center

When Vardah hit, his house was badly damaged. At that time, he had got immersed devotionally into the Prabhandham and Vedas and was reciting Desikar Prabhandham and Stotras as a group. He was keen to reconstruct the damaged house into a Center for Learning the sacred verses. One of his vedic team members, Rangachari, put him on to a structural engineer, Pichandi from Koyambedu, who agreed to reconstruct the building but when he shared the financial details of the reconstruction Muralidharan was in a state of shock and was in tears.

His devotional wish was to make this as a destination for the likeminded who wanted to learn and recite prabhandham and the vedas and a platform for the nextgen to learn the sacred verses and to present on special days in the year. And even as he looks back at that moment when he looked to the Lord for solution, devotional tears roll down once again. For two decades, he had been performing Thirumanjanam every Swathi for Lord Narasimha and he sought a solution from Him.

As per the Lord’s direction, he gave the go ahead to the engineer but did not  have financial wherewithal to fund the construction. 

It was then that he decided to sell all his shares and financial investments to source the finances for this reconstruction. 

2017 - Opens Prabhandham and Vedic learning Center

On Akshaya Trithiyai day in 2017, the Prabhandham and Vedic Center of Learning “Sudarshan” was inaugurated by Purasai Ranganathan, former GM of Philips and the backbone to Muralidharan’s devotional endeavours.

p

He looks back with great happiness at the God's blessings "Till then, the prabhandham and veda classes had been in different locations. Now 40students congregated at ‘Sudarshan’ every week for the vedic classes under Acharya Kuruchi Swami."

Record 10 year Presentation of Achidram

He also feels blessed that as a team they have been able to follow a religious process during Ekadasi and to have presented Achidram without a break for ten years "We have been reciting Achidram every Ekadasi since 2012 and have just completed the 219th  presentation this month. We celebrated the 200th Ekadasi with a series of Upanyasams including one by Anantha Padmanabhachariar. In the last year, we have also begun reciting Ashwamedham every Ekadasi in addition to Achidram." 

Every year on the 27th day of Karthigai, the group presents Paduka Sahasram at this center of Learning as a one day Parayanam.

20 young boys join this year

When the 46th Jeer of the Ahobila Mutt came to this center earlier this year, he was keen for Muralidharan to add young boys in good numbers to these classes to compliment the presentation of the seniors. And thus over the last nine months, 20 new boys aged below 15 have begun learning Stotra Paadam from Thyaga Varadarajan (Srivatsan), Sanskrit teacher at KV Tambaram.

Earlier this month, on the occasion of Vedantha Desikar’s birthday, all these students came together as a group at Sudarshan Center of Learning. Each of the students were presented a hundi with the objective of encouraging the savings mindset in them. Visaka Hari’s disciple Rishi presented an upanyasam on the occasion.

Every year on the morning of Chitrai Pournami, Srinivasa Perumal of Vedantha Desikar temple, Mylapore makes his way to ‘Sudarshan’.

His Wife - Pillar of Strength 

Sumithra, wife of Muralidharan, has been a pillar of strength in this devotional endeavour. At every sacred congregation, the students and acharya are presented with a special sweet and badam milk. She has also learnt the Divya Prabhandham as well as Yadavabdhiyam, Bhagavatam, Ramayana slokas among other stotra paadams under the tutorship of Smt Devaki, who has trained over 100 students.

When Vardah Cyclone badly damaged his house, he could have gone down and become depressed. Instead he found a devotional opportunity in the crisis and created a new center of learning that has been promoting Prabhandam and Vedas. He has also been constantly encouraging young vedic students to come and present the Vedas at this center. His has been a yeomen service in the spiritual world and one that has taken place over a long period of time.

'Sudarshan' is located on Habibullah Road near Karnataka Sangha School

TNCA Academy Head Coach Twist in Tale

Peter Fernandez pulls out, PC Prakash set to become the Head Coach 

This section had put out a story last Saturday that former TN batsman Peter Fernandez was appointed as the Head Coach of the TNCA Academy (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/10/peter-fernandez-head-coach-tnca-academy.html). Following the story, congratulatory and best wishes messages had poured in to Peter on the social media cricketing group on his appointment and Peter thanked all of them for their wishes.

Secretary of the TNCA, RS Ramaswamy, told this writer late on Thursday evening that Peter had met him on Saturday with a plan of action as the Head Coach but informed him subsequently that he had a change of heart and that he did not want the role of the Head Coach.

Ramaswamy confirmed to this writer that TN middle order batsman from the 1980s PC Prakash has been appointed as the Head Coach of the TNCA Academy and that he was likely to sign the contract early next week. 

When contacted late on Thursday evening, Peter did not disclose the reasons for the change in his decision (he has subsequently clarified on Saturday - Oct 14 -that the head coach role was one of man management and that since his passion has always been on actual coaching, he has chosen to take up (continue with) the role  of just a batting coach as against the head coach role offered by the TNCA)

In April this year, this section had put out a story on PC Prakash's over five decades association with cricket (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/04/pc-prakash-tn-ranji-1980s.html)

Last month, this section had featured a story on Prakash riding 60kms on his bullet over the weekend to grounds afar to watch lower division league matches of the teams that he was taking care of this year.

(https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2022/09/pc-prakash-bullet-ride-tnca-league-match.html)

Prakash has been the batting coaching of Tamil Nadu in the past and has also  been the coach at different age group levels. Last year, he was the batting coach of the TNCA Academy.

Best Wishes to PCP as the Head Coach of the TNCA Academy.

(The sentence in Red has been added to the story on Oct 14)

R Ravichandran Madras University Rohinton Baria Captain

From St. Bedes to Junior State, he captained and won everything on sight and later moved to a successful corporate career in the US

If there is a team that is chosen of those who did not make it to TN Ranji, Ravi would certainly be the Captain of that team – PR Ramakrishnan, Madras University team mate and now successful lawyer

For close to a decade, this cricketer held a unique record. He captained teams from his school to the Junior State and had a trophy under his belt at every level making him one of the most successful captains in Madras in that phase. Captaining Madras University to the Rohinton Baria Trophy  for the first time in its history and YMA (with Venkat playing under him) to a Palayampatti shield were the two biggest moments in his cricketing life. He was roped into the TN squad in the 1970s but unfortunately  he sat out an entire season donning the role of the 12th man. This Chemical Engineer worked for a couple of years at SPIC but hung his cricketing boots in his mid 20s and moved to the US where for a decade and a half he had a highly successful corporate career at Unisys and Kodak. Here’s the story.

Surrounded by Glamour

R Ravichandran had a fabulous (read glamourous!!) early life like no other cricketer in Madras. His appa Ramamoorthy who hailed from Thiru Kadaiyur (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2014/06/thiru-kadaiyur-amirtha-narayana-perumal.html) rose to great heights in the corporate world. He was the first Indian to head Kodak in India at a time when Multinational firms in India were dominated by foreigners. During the late 1960s and early 70s, he was one of the highest paid Indians in a MNC.  Being in a sector that catered to the cine industry (Kodak were into camera film and post production products), it was always gala atmosphere at home (a famous Tamil cine scriptwriter resided a few hundred yards away from his house).

Ravichandran recalls the days at home in the 1950s and 60s “The who’s who from the film industry were always at home when I returned from school. They looked up to appa for insights on the latest in film technology. It was my appa who got the owners of Gemini Colour Lab and Prasad Lab trained in the US at the Kodak headquarters. All movies were screened for us and SVS Mani and N Kumar would join me to watch those ‘exclusive premiers’. A good part of my childhood and teenage life was spent at these premiers.”

The Early cricketing days at CIT colony and Nageswara Rao Park 

His appa was a cricket enthusiast and provided great encouragement to Ravichandran during his school days. From the time he played street cricket in CIT colony and later with his friends at Nageswara Rao Park, he displayed leadership qualities and it seemed that captaincy came naturally to him. Through the 10 years of his cricket, he made No. 3 his own.  His cricket career began with him leading St. Bedes to a tournament victory against Don Bosco.

Captain Cool even during the school days

Leggie V Murali played for Parrys and was Ravichandran’s classmate at AC Tech. Later in life, he ran a coffee estate and now leads a retired life in Madras. He had many a cricketing battle against Ravichandran playing for Don Bosco against St. Bedes and then became close friends at Loyola where the two did PUC together.  

He looks back at the cricketing days in the early 60s “We beat St. Bedes in the first year on the same day that RKM beat MCC causing two big upsets in schools cricket. But the very next year, under Ravi’s captaincy, they beat us in the final. Right from that time, he was always ‘captain cool’ and was an ‘all in one cricketer’ who commanded respect from everyone. He had a princely walk to the ground even as a school boy. While he was the only one who would come in a flannel and had a top notch cricketing gear, he was always down to earth and very friendly in his approach with his teammates and the opposition. He was outstanding at the school and college level  and most of us were of the view that he would be a sure bet for Ranji but it was unfortunate that he did not play for the state. It was he who transformed cricket at AC Tech and brought us to winning ways beating the more fancied colleges.”

The Big Finals day in Schools Cricket

Ravichandran recalls playing that school final (that Murali referred to above) in front of a big crowd “It was simply overwhelming. Both the schools had declared a holiday. As a captain, it was a great experience to soak up pressure at that young age. Personally, it was a double delight - winning the tournament and contributing in the final with a half century.”

                        20 year old handsome boy

Appa’s cricketing support is something that Ravichandran cherishes to this day “Appa would watch me from his car. If I did not start well with the bat, he would move the car a bit. He also brought visiting Englishmen from Kodak to the ground to watch me bat and captain. And that added extra pressure on me at that young age but I enjoyed the experience of performing in front of them.”

“His support towards my cricket was unconditional. He bought me the best cricket gear including Gray Nicolls bat, one that Ram Ramesh took from me for the state match.”

His class mate at school N Kumar, now VC at Sanmar Group ( N Kumar Mayura) played with Ravi for TSC in the TNCA league. He recalls Ravi from his schooling years “He was a stylish batsman.  His leadership qualities came to the fore even as a teenager. Outside of his cricketing achievements, he was and continues to be a very good human being. While we were very close during our schooling days, in recent decades he became one of Sankar's best friends and the two spent a lot of time watching matches and movies together.”

A class topper all through

Ravichandran made steady progress in cricket playing and captaining city and state schools. He won the school boy cricketer award in 64-65. He captained TSC to league championship victories taking the team from the V division to the first.  For a youngster who spent a lot of time on the cricket field and with cine personalities throughout his teenage phase, he was a topper all through his schooling years and he walked into AC Tech after PUC at Loyola. 

At AC Tech, he captained a rather unfancied cricket team to many victories. Spin twins Bhargav Mehta and N Bharathan often bundled out the opposition while Ravichandran anchored the batting.  

V Ravikumar retired as the Executive Director of AV Thomas and now lives a quiet life in the beautiful city of Mysore. He was three years Ravichandran's junior at AC Tech and has some wonderful recollections from those glorious years at college “It was a tradition for only the final year students to captain the college team but Ravi was a natural leader and he broke that tradition!!”

Ravikumar was playing 5th division cricket for Royapettah CC when he joined AC Tech. He was warned by his classmates to not go anywhere near the cricket team as they perceived it as being full of politics but Ravikumar’s passion got the better of him and he tried to give it a shot and went to the selection trials much against the advice of his friends. He recounts the meritorious approach of Ravichandran and his ability to test the real abilities of a cricketer ‘When I told him I was an opening batsman, he got me padded up against the extraordinary spin twins N Barathan and Bharghav Mehta. He also had fast bowler Varun Kaiwar bowl at me at the nets.”

Like any cricket mad teenager, Ravikumar went eagerly to the notice board the next morning hoping against hope for his name to  feature in the squad for that season. Much to his delight, his was the 14th and final name in the list. He recounts that moment “A hand softly touched my shoulder from behind. As I turned around, it was Ravichandran conveying his congratulations and best wishes to me. He asked me to come to the nets that evening. He always made his teammates feel that they (we) ‘belonged’ and that each player was an integral member of the team. It simply boosted our confidence.”

“Ravi was a charming personality and a natural leader. He personally appreciated every contribution both of his teammates and the opposition. He was always composed and never lost his cool even when in tense situations. A prime example of this was when AC Tech suffered a shock loss to an unfancied MIT. He accepted defeat gracefully and immediately went up to the opposition captain to congratulate him.”

Heroism written all over him

Ravikumar recounts another distinctive quality of Ravichandran.  “He stood up when the chips were down. Heroism was written all over him. In a tournament final, he broke his thumb while batting against Pachaiappas’ Ramanujam (later IOB and US). He went pillion to the Royapettah Hospital and came back to the ground with stitches. By this time, we had collapsed to 30 for 7. He played with one hand with the tail for company and got us to within a few runs of victory till a controversial LBW decision ended our innings. But it was bravado at its best.”

One of his two Biggest Moments 

His biggest achievement in his decade long cricket career was captaining Madras University, a team that included future Ranji players V Krishnaswamy, V Sivaramakrishnan and P Mukund, to its first Rohinton Baria Cup in 40 years.

PR Ramakrishnan (https://prtraveller.blogspot.com/2021/10/pr-ramakrishnan-coimbatore-cricketer.html), who was an integral part of that middle order, says that Ravi stood out as a leader of men “He was an astute captain. If there is a team of those who did not break into the TN Ranji squad, Ravi will certainly be the captain.  He read the game very well, made the correct moves all the time, placed the field right and had the right bowlers on at the right time. Most importantly, he always chose the XI on merit.”

Ramakrishnan also played under Ravi at YMA “He brought the best out of the players and was easy to move with. He would always discuss the strategy with his teammates and gathered their (our) thoughts as well.” 

Ramakrishnan says that Ravi was a ‘charming’ guy, had the gift of the gab and was a true leader.

The Lucky Rs. 10 coin

The ten rupee coin was a rarity those days. 50 years ago. Ramakrishnan had one. He narrates how that coin became close to Ravi’s heart (finger). “I handed him the coin once for the toss. He won both the toss and the match. And then every time he asked for the coin. In the final, when he could not find me just before the toss, he sent teammates to search for me to get the coin from me. He won the toss and the match.”

Ramki is not able to recall now if the coin was permanently handed to Ravi!!!!

Ravichandran himself counts the South Zone final against Bangalore as the best he had played in. “Victor brought us back into the match with six wickets and then Ramki and I won the match chasing in the fourth innings.” 

The Best Captain

Victor Fernandez, who later went on to become a selector at U13-U19 levels and a VP at TNCA, played under Ravichandran for Madras University and Junior State. Five decades after that famous win against Bangalore, Victor  told this writer that Ravi was easily the best captain he had played under “I also played under Venkat but Ravi was easily the best captain during my time. He got the best out of the players. He was quite sharp and made quick judgments.”

When the match was getting out of hand, Ravichandran fielded at mid off and constantly spoke to his bowlers.

“When we had given away the lead against a strong Bangalore in that crucial match, he came up to during the innings break to say that I had it in me to break the back of the Bangalore innings. That pep talk made all the difference and I got my off cutters going that day and went on to pick 6 wickets. Without Ravi, it may have been a different story that day. All of us had great regard for him as a captain and a human being and I thoroughly enjoyed playing under him" recalls Victor of how Ravi was the motivational force behind the strong comeback in the second innings.

An inspiration

Former Bombay and TN Ranji batsman S Srinivasan was growing up as a school boy in that phase and used to watch matches at the leading grounds in Madras. He says that he drew a lot of inspiration from watching Ravichandran bat and captain at Marina and helped him later as a batsman.

Jealous of Ravi!!!!

Y. Gee. Mahendra and Ravichandran were 'last benchers' at Loyola and AC Tech and their friendship has lasted for close to six decades. Y. Gee recalls his first meeting with Ravichandran in the 1960s “There was a great cricketing rivalry between Don Bosco and St Bedes in those days. I was introduced to Ravi by my captain Vijayaraghavan. Even though we were in the opposition, all of us liked him. There was a certain style to him that could not be missed when one was at the ground. The respect for him was so much that even today everyone addresses him as ‘skip’.”

"At AC Tech, I was the cheerleader of the cricket team and was at all the matches he played. I was a big fan of his in the way he played cricket and conducted himself. We had mutual admiration for each other and shared similar tastes (MSV/Kannadasa/Shivaji/ GRV fans). I led the music competitions at AC Tech and he would always be present to cheer me up."

Ravichandran was part of  Mahendra's drama troupe at AC Tech. Y Gee reveals an unknown facet of Rav "He was a specialist in ‘Madras Baashai’. Hence I assigned him that role in the drama that we put out at the college and he turned out to be a big hit. He had a great sense of humour and was a fun loving fellow."

"Much later when we went to the US, we stayed at his house in Rochester and he was the one who first took us to the Niagara falls." 

While Y Gee was a great cricket fan of Ravi, he says he was jealous of one thing about his close friend "All the teenage girls were at him and we always felt ignored!!! I would always pull his leg on that. He was a charming and handsome guy and it was no wonder that he attracted the right attention."

A Good friend to have 

His senior by a few years at St. Bedes and former TN batsman AG Satvinder Singh (Satvindar@75) has high words of praise for Ravichandran's qualities as a human being "He was an affable guy, very friendly, always smiling and has been a good friend to have over the last many decades. He was a fine gentleman and very kind hearted. Whenever we played at Vivekananda college ground, Ravi would bring us loads of ice cool water especially on hot cricketing days that helped quenched our thirst.”

He was a shrewd captain as well. "In a match at Chepauk on a very wet wicket, YMA captained by Ravi shot us (Alwarpet) for less than 20. He handled the team very well and had a positive impact on his teammates."

Hat- Trick man from the early 1970s B Kalyanasundaram (Kalli) is now settled in Pondicherry. He remembers how he had Ravi stumped in a league match against Bunts at the Marina “Ravi came forward and was beaten off three successive balls. Suddenly captain and wicket keeper KR Rajagopal came closer to the stumps and I noticed this as I was on the run up and immediately stopped. Raja shouted at me asking me to bowl and the very next delivery Ravi was stumped. On his way back to the pavilion, Ravi jokingly and sportingly commented that it was Raja’s wicket and not mine. Very truly so.”

A big impact as a captain

Dashing TN opener from the late 1960s KR Rajagopal (KR Raja) has been undergoing serious health issues in recent times at his home in Koromangala, Bangalore having to get Dialysis done four times a week. Despite his ill heath and a fading memory, he remembers the terrific contribution made by Ravichandran to every team that he played “He was the talk of the town when he captained Madras University to that famous first victory in Rohinton Baria. He was a solid batsman who made consistent runs but made a bigger impact as a captain bringing his team members together as a winning unit at every level that he led. He was an inspirational captain."

The Captain’s permission

Former India wicket keeper Bharath Reddy (B Reddy) was in the Junior State team of which Ravichandran was the captain. He recalls the match at the Guindy Engineering College when he sought the permission of his captain to leave mid match “I was in the playing XI but on the second day of the match, they called me for the Rest of India match against Bombay in Bangalore and Ravi let me go. He was a good man at heart and a fine captain and it was sad that he missed out on playing Ranji.

A Big Moment – Venkat’s Gesture at YMA!!!

After watching him captain TSC to successive wins in the league, Bunts Management comprising of senior players offered him the captaincy in the first division. Ravichandran considers it a great honour to have captained Bunts. After his Engineering degree, Sriraman roped him into YMA, a team run by SPIC, where he worked as Project Engineer for a couple of years.

YMA was seen as a team that comprised of ‘Venkat and 10 others’. When Venkat (Venkat @ 75) was away at Derbyshire or on international duty, Ravichandran captained YMA. He recalls a proud moment from that season when YMA won the Palayampatti shield “In the final game of the season, when the opposition captain was waiting for the toss, Venkat came up to me and asked me to go. He told me that I had led the team to the Championship and it was only appropriate that I should continue to captain in the final match of the season as well. It was a great gesture from him and showed the greatness of the man. It was one of my biggest moments in cricket.”

He took inspiration from Venkat’s never say die attitude “When we were once shot out for 60, he took us into the dressing room at Marina and in his typical ‘teeth biting’ style said ‘if they could get us out for 60, we surely can bundle them out for 30. And that’s exactly how it turned out.”

Confidence building High Pressure games

Ravichandran says that the cricketing decade was a great learning phase in his life.  He recalls the huge pressure the boundary fielders were subject to in in those days in matches in Madras “In a Buchi Babu match against Mafatlal at Marina, Ashok Mankad hit Venkat high to long off. There were a couple hundred people just a few yards behind me. They yelled as the ball went high in the air that it will be spoken about till the end of my life if I dropped that catch. Such situations severely tested your ability to remain calm under pressure. Playing under pressure in front of big crowds and coming up trumps built up the confidence levels.” 

The corporate chiefs too came to watch the games and one had to be conscious of the fact that some of them were analysing the personalities of the cricketers “After I got out for 30 chasing a wide one from Ghavri,  Rane’s chief L Narayanan came up to me that evening with a polite enquiry on the shot I played. It had a telling effect on me and reminded me that I was being closely watched." 

A Polished, No-Politics man

Former India fast bowler and architect of MRF Pace Foundation TA Sekar (Sekar TA) was as quick  as it could get in his time. He faced off with Ravichandran in Salem in the Ramadurai Trophy Final and his fine performance with the ball led him to be selected as an understudy to Kalli in the state squad. He says Ravi was a Polished, No-Politics man. "He was a good communicator and that helped him in his captaincy." 

Captain with the Golden Touch

VV Giri played together with Ravi for YMA. He says that Ravi commanded respect from all the players who played under him. "Ravi was a charismatic personality. Whatever he touched turned gold (all the decisions he took as a captain produced results). Of course it must be said that he had a very good team. He was special as a captain and he made it count in crucial matches. He was a gentleman to the core and was very knowledgeable both on cricketing matters and worldly affairs."

The big regret in cricket 

One of the state selectors watched his classy unbeaten 90 against Alwarpet at Viveka and immediately roped him into the Ranji squad but like Ramakrishnan he did not get to play a single match. He was also in the Madras squad that went to ceylon for the Gopalan Trophy match but there too he did not manage to get into the XI “I was sitting out for the first time in my life. It was a frustrating experience to don the role of a 12th man for an entire season. I would have liked to have graduated from University and Junior state to Ranji cricket.”

But he is quick to point out that it was his own undoing “I was very interested in cricket and passionate about the game but my biggest regret is that I did not practice hard enough to build on my batting talent and push my case at the next level with big scores. The cine attraction was too much of a temptation and I watched a lot of movies at those exclusive screenings."

It was also the time he fell in love with a ‘beautiful’ Stella Maris girl and this too took some of his time away from practice.

He had enjoyed a fantastic friendly relationship with his appa during the first two decades of his life and he announced with great ease his love for Shashi “He was a great friend. When I wanted to convey my love, I just went up to him at his office and expressed my intent. Immediately, he picked up the phone and communicated to her appa and fixed up the wedding. The communication with him was always as one of a close friend.”

                    Shivaji Ganesan at Ravi's Wedding

Ravichandran married Shashi in 1975 at a wedding that was attended by the entire cine and cricketing fraternity. Shivaji Ganesan who was a regular to the CIT colony home of Ravi's appa delighted Ravi by being at the wedding. Ravichandran was a great fan of Shivaji's acting and never missed his movies. 

Appa’s message for life

He says that his appa was a self-made man having lost both his parents before he was out of his teens (his appa had lost his appa when he was just one and his amma when he was a teenager). After sitting on the sidelines with the Ranji team, he decided to hang his boots and was never to touch the cricket bat again. 

He quit the job at SPIC, prepared hard for GMAT and came out with a high percentile. He got admitted into the Illonois University (the same one that N Sankar and N Srinivasan went to) with scholarship.

He recalls the sendoff moment when his appa shared a message that has remained with him over the last five decades “With tears in his eyes, he gave me a message that has stayed with me ever since. ‘You need to have good friends in life. Do not ever forget those that helped you in your hour of need. Treat people with dignity’."

Corporate Success 

In the late 1970s, he joined UNISYS and went on to manage four states in the US. Into the 1980s, when he had three job offers on hand, his amma wanted him to join Kodak “namakku sappadu potta company” she told me, recalls Ravichandran. After serving for over 7 years, when he had to return to India due to his mother in law’s ill health, Kodak gave him a one year lien but Ravichandran was never to return to the US for employment.

On his return to India, he helped his father in law grow the conveyor belt business expanding it globally. At the turn of the century, he was involved for four years with a software start up before he set up his own ePublishing firm that he has been running for well over 15years now.  His wife worked at Raj Vattukkutty and VV Sundaram’s CBSI for a few years at MEPZ Tambaram and later at Stanchart before she too turned entrepreneurial.

NO to Cricket

In the 1990s, U Prabhakar Rao asked him to get back into cricket and offered the role of a junior state selector “He told me that I had had a successful experience at the university and junior state level and that I would be able to assess players well.” 

But Ravichandran stayed away from cricket and was never to have an official engagement with cricket again.

Since his return, he had become very close to N Sankar (nsankar@75), who passed away earlier this year. “I was almost part of his household. He was like my Man Mentor. We also travelled a lot together including to watch Wimbledon and cricket internationals in England.”

A Rich Captaincy Experience

Its now just over 50 years since that famous win the Rohinton Baria tournament. Ravichandran looks back at his decade long captaincy stint and points to some of the factors that contributed to his success “I was perceptive as a captain. I closely watched the stance and back lift of every batsman. I was never intimated by the opposition. When an in-form Brijesh Patel came into bat, I posted a short leg and leg slip and gave Barathan the confidence that he could get Patel out cheaply. And he did.”

Ravichandran did not make big hundreds like some of his team mates. He feels he would have batted more freely if he not been a captain ‘The Captaincy was a great opportunity to lead a bunch of great cricketers but personally it meant that I had to shoulder a lot of responsibility. One could not be flippant as a captain. I had to live up to the responsible position and that led me to play well within myself.”

He says he was rationale as a captain. Empathy was one of his most distinguishing qualities best illustrated after Rammohan hit that boundary in the Semi Final against Calcutta to secure a tense one wicket win. “The opposition captain was completely distraught and in tears. I went up to him, put my hands around his shoulder and consoled him. I knew that on another cricketing day, I could have easily been in the position.” 

Captaincy helped greatly in building his man management and communication skills. As he moved into the corporate world in the US, the cricketing experience led him to easily address large gatherings. 

His greatest joy in recent times has been the exceptional success of his two children – his daughter is the MD of the $7trillion Blackrock and his son runs his own Fund. Both are alumni of PSBB KK Nagar.

A Religious Life over the last decade

His father in law was the first secretary of Chinmaya Mission Worldwide. While Swami Dayananda, Sringeri Acharya and Maha Periyava were regulars at his house during his youth and there have been hundreds of homams performed, he has personally turned extremely religious over the last decade or so. He reads the Gita and other ancient scriptures every day and  says that the spiritual endeavor is the real battery charger and 'I feel ‘souped up’ after every such exercise'.

Though he did not get to play in the Ranji Trophy, Ravichandran has fond memories of the cricketing phase in his life "It was a glorious phase in my life. There was no TV in those days and fans thronged in large numbers to watch even a school final. The grounds were packed and while that meant there was pressure on the players, it also served as a great motivation to perform for every good knock or a spell was acknowledged by the fans and we felt like celebrities. Those were lovely old days and very enjoyable ones.  My appa had wanted me to have good friends. Cricket has helped forge life long friendship with so many of my teammates. It has been the greatest blessing to be able to chat up and reminisce with those mates 50years after the Rohinton Baria victory."