Chemplast Sanmar has been in the forefront of cricket promotion for over three decades sponsoring cricket teams participating in the Chennai league and tournaments all over India. Not only has its best known team Jolly Rovers won the league championship several times, it has also produced many outstanding cricketers who represented Tamil Nadu in the national championship. Some have gone on to represent India in the international arena.
Sadagopan Ramesh, India’s 24-year old left handed opening batsman is the most successful player to wear Chemplast colours so far. He was barely 17 when he first turned out for Chemplast in the local league. This cool, soft-spoken young man has been tested by fire at the highest level and come out in flying colours with two hundreds in Test cricket under his belt in a career which is only seven Tests old.
He faces his greatest challenge yet, on tour in Australia with the Indian team, where he is up against a top class attack on surfaces that aid fast bowling and test the best of batsmen. Matrix interviewed Ramesh a few days before he boarded the flight to Brisbane with the rest of the Indian team. Here are a few excerpts of the interview:
When and where did you start playing cricket?
I played much of my early formal cricket at Santhome High School, Chennai. Of course, like every other youngster, I played a lot of cricket in the open spaces near our home at Alwar Tirunagar, a distant suburb. My brother Satish and Mahesh are both good cricketers – you know Mahesh is Tamil Nadu’s opening bowler – and there were a whole lot of enthusiastic cricketers in the neighbourhood. We formed quite an active gang of cricketers.
Did your parents encourage you to play the game?
Yes, quite a lot. My father, then working in Grindlays Bank, keenly followed our cricket. My mother too takes an active interest in my cricket – she anxiously enquires about the details of my matches, not only about my own performance.
Didn’t you start out as an off spinner?
In fact, I started as a medium pace bowler at the Under-13 level. But by the time I was selected for the city Under-16 team I had switched to off spin bowling. I was at that time studying at the Rama Krishna Mission School at T’Nagar and I did not fancy my chances when I joined scores of other boys at the selection trials. In fact, my name was added in the very last moment to the short list of 38 probables!
That was because one of the selectors, Mr. Krishnan, was impressed by the way I batted in the nets, rather than my bowling. He even told me, “I like your batting. I am going to fight for your inclusion”.
The day the team was announced, I had gone to Chepauk to watch a match and casually looked up the notice board which had the list of players selected. To my surprise my name figured fourth in the list! I literally ran to the Mount Road bus stop and took the next bus home.
I reported late that day for the nets and the coach Selvakumar asked me how come I was late on the very first day. He laughed when I told him I never expected to be selected.
I took four wickets in three overs in the second of the City vs Districts matches that season which was otherwise unexciting for me.
When did you start performing well at that level?
I had a very good season the very next year. Playing for Tamil Nadu Under-16, I took wickets against every team and scored 70 and 50 against Hyderabad and Karnataka respectively. I took a big step forward in the knockout stage when I made 35 not out in 16 balls in the second innings against Gujarat. When I went in to bat, my side which was chasing a target of 260 runs in 40 overs needed
62 in 8 overs. We won that match even though we had yielded a first innings lead of over a hundred. It was around this time that I was beginning to be taken seriously as a batsman. I was promoted to No.4 against Punjab and I made 70.
How did you fare at the Under-19 level?
Not very well. I was rarely included in the eleven as Tamil Nadu had a very strong line-up already established. The real turning point came at the under-22 level. I had done well as an opener in the one-day Indian Bank Trophy tournament and was selected to open the innings for Tamil Nadu versus Kerala in the three day match at Manjeri where I made 195, only to be dropped for the one-day match that followed, because the eleven had been finalised at Chennai. In the next season, I scored 60 and 110 against Karnataka Under-22 (plus an 80- in the one-day match), following it up with 145 not out for the senior City XI versus Districts at Tirunelveli.
Didn’t you follow with a hundred on your Ranji Trophy debut?
Yes, I made 60 and 132 in the match against Hyderabad at Chepauk. I also hit centuries on my debut for South Zone and India ’A’.
You must have come into the limelight with that impressive debut for your state.
Not really. I had a fairly long wait, about three years. During that period I played for Board President’s XI against Australia and made 65 but I was not selected again for South Zone, after getting 280 runs in my first two games for the zone.
When did the break come?
It came when I was not getting too many runs for the State. I was picked for India Youth to play the touring West Indies ‘A’ and I made a fifty. A place in the India ‘A’ team followed and you know I made a hundred at Bangalore.
The West Indies ‘A’ pacemen must have been the quickest you faced up to that stage.
Yes, Ian Bishop had slowed down but he bowled a fiery spell in Bangalore when the tourists were desperately looking for a wicket. In fact, the very first ball I faced in that match – from Pedro Collins – hit me on my shoulder, a painful blow. That made me both angry and determined to succeed. Reon King too bowled well and fast.
How did you adjust to the extra pace?
After that first ball, it was not really that difficult because I used to play a lot of tennis ball cricket in my neighbourhood, with the ball being chucked at me very fast from 17 or 18 yards.
That also explains my relative lack of footwork and the time I have to play fast bowling. When a ball is aimed at you from such close quarters there’s not much time for footwork but you also learn to bring down your bat in time. Won’t lack of footwork make you vulnerable against the moving ball?
The Debashis Mohanty type of bowler should trouble me more than others. Among Australian bowlers, Damien Fleming will bear watching.
How are you preparing for the faster, bouncier wickets of Australia?
I get the marker (groundsman) to chuck the ball at me fast from 15 yards or so. I am concentrating on playing the cut and pull, shots that will come in handy in Australia. I think I am getting there.
Do you hook well?
I prefer to play the pull shot. When the ball bounces head high I prefer to leave it, because of the risk of hooking it in the air.
Your fielding seems to have come a long way since your debut.
We see you diving and sliding and generally showing great commitment.
I have worked very hard at my fielding and keeping fit and healthy. During the World Cup, we had some great fielding practice under Bobby Simpson’s supervision. Simpson has some very innovative methods.
You must have been thrilled with your first hundred in Test cricket at Colombo?
Yes and I was equally pleased with my recent hundred against New Zealand. But I was bitterly disappointed with getting out at 96 in Delhi against Pakistan. It was a soft dismissal off a full toss after I had worked hard on a bad wicket.
You seem to bat well on turning tracks?
I think that’s because I play the ball late.
Who are the best bowlers you have faced?
Wasim Akram is a great bowler. He is always attacking, has such variety. You can never relax against him. And for a 37-year old, Courtney Walsh is still quick.
A great bowler. Shane Warne is a wonderful bowler, too, even if he poses less of a challenge to a left hander like me. He has great variety too, incredible drift. Saqlain Mushtaq poses quite a few problems but I was able to read his famed wrong’un much to his own surprise. He asked me once how I did it – he was worried. Of course, I didn’t tell him.
How will you cement your place in the Indian one-day team?
By converting 30s and 40s into bigger scores whenever I get a chance, maybe.
Who were the early influences in your cricket?
My brothers. They have always believed in me. Do you talk to fellow cricketers about your game?
I talk to Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid, technically perfect batsmen, both. I watch Rahul closely in the nets. Srinath also makes observations about my batting. He bowls flat out in the nets to me, bowls bouncers. It all helps.
Ramesh with his parents Mr & Mrs Sadagopan and brother Mahesh.
Do you enjoy playing for Chemplast Sanmar?
Hugely. They have been a great help. Vijay Sankar has been a friend since the time I played for Kohinoor XI. We were a talented bunch of players and we could go to him for any help.
How would you rate the Chemplast-IIT cricket ground?
It is one of the best in India. It is a green carpet with even bounce on which you can dive and slide without fear of injury. We have a range of wickets from a slow turner to a true, bouncy wicket. The fast-paced one helped me practise facing quick bowlers in preparation for the Australian tour. The English style pavilion adds to the ground’s overall similarity to English greens. It’s a great ambience.
How would you describe your temperament?
I think I have a cool temperament. I don’t overreact to success or failure. And I believe in destiny.
The think tank of the Chemplast cricket teams – (L to R) Abdul Jabbar, Bharat Reddy, Vijay Sankar and B Arun with V Ramnarayan, Editor, Kalamkriya, and former Ranji cricketer (in the middle).
Other India players from Sanmar
The Sanmar group’s association with cricket goes back a long way. Even before the formation of the Chemicals and Plastics Ltd., the promoters, India Cements Limited were the foremost patrons of the game in Tamil Nadu. Later, in the seventies and eighties Sanmar intensified its involvement with the game, providing talented players in the state a platform to launch their sporting careers. A number of players from other states too sought and were given employment by the group. While a few of them were selected to play for India, many others played first class cricket.