There can be little doubt that over the last half a century Jolly Rovers has been the dominant side in Tamil Nadu cricket. The class of players who have represented the team, the trophies they have won over the years and the interest their sponsors have shown in promoting the game in various ways has been for many years part of cricketing folklore in the state. Think of Tamil Nadu cricket and inevitably the name that springs to mind is Jolly Rovers. A crack outfit, they have been the most feared and respected opponents in Chennai that was Madras. Moreover they have held aloft the banner of Tamil Nadu when battling it out with top outstation teams in various tournaments around the country.
The sheer professional approach of the players ensures that no competition is taken lightly and the surfeit of cricket competitions in recent years has not dampened their attitude. This professionalism has always helped the players to endure as a strong team in a game where so many teams unable to sustain the high standards fade away after a bright start. The superb all round skills of the players has made Jolly Rovers the champion in all types of cricket – “instant cricket’’ like the Hindu Trophy and the Calcutta T-20 tournament, the senior division league games which have been played over one, two and three days and various competitions like the Buchi Babu Trophy, KSCA Trophy and Moin-ud-Dowla which are played over three days.
What makes Jolly Rovers tick? What has made them the leading cricketing outfit in Tamil Nadu? What continues to make Jolly Rovers the most attractive team to promising youngsters? By far the most important reason has been the sponsorship of the parent company, be it India Cements, Chemplast or The Sanmar Group. Over three generations from KS Narayanan to N Sankar to Vijay Sankar the company has been fortunate to have people at the helm whose interest in sport is intense and who have had a far sighted approach. Moreover they have kept pace with changing times. Not only has Sanmar treated its cricketers with care and concern for their future, compensating them well for their efforts on the field, the Group has ensured that the players enjoy the best facilities.
But The Sanmar Group’s backing of their cricket team has not been their only contribution to the game in the state. Having encouraged the growth of a good team that formed the nucleus of the state side the company in the 1980s sponsored the Chemplast – Pasadena tournament with three day matches which helped the batsman to become “stayers’’. The Chemplast – Pasadena tournament was credited as being one of the reasons why Tamil Nadu won the Ranji Trophy in 1987-88, regaining it after 33 years.
Around this time the company co-sponsored a series of games between Tamil Nadu and Western Australia. The other sponsor of the series was the MG Kailis group of companies in Western Australia. As luck would have it both emerged winners of their respective domestic competitions that year and the Kailis - Chemplast trophy had the status of an official Australian Bicentenary event. Played for two years, first at Perth and then at Chennai it provided good international exposure for the Tamil Nadu cricketers.
The Sanmar Group has also spared no effort to send the Jolly Rovers team to participate in tournaments outside the state. That you must play against the best to improve has always been the company’s cricketing credo. The list of trophies won by Jolly Rovers in various competitions is testimony to the superb all round skills and professional approach of the players. The company has also sponsored cricketers’ trips to England more than once as a reward for the team’s fine performance over the years.
Aware of the importance of turf wickets, The Sanmar Group was the first to sponsor a pitch – at the University Union ground – in the 80s. But its most important contribution in this aspect has been the scenic ground at the IIT. It has earned praise from international cricketers and the Sanmar Pavilion, a lovely old-English style structure, was inaugurated by Neil Harvey, one of Australia’s greatest ever batsmen. With its lush green outfield and red bricked dressing room, the IIT Sanmar ground is the pride of Chennai cricket.
A significant phase in The Sanmar Group’s cricketing growth commenced in 1982 when former Test stumper Bharath Reddy joined the company. The team’s fortunes soared and the number of trophies it won increased. Having played cricket the world over while travelling with Indian teams Reddy was quick to sense the changing face of the game. It was no more a genteel game played in a leisurely way on weekends. Cricketers were now required to be professional in their attitude willing to play every day if need be - for a price. Reddy roped in the best players, offering them terms, incentives and allowances that could not have been dreamt of a decade earlier.
The southern metropolis has been the home of ardent corporate support of the game for half a century and The Sanmar Group has been in the forefront of cricket sponsorship for almost all that time. It is a unique model of sports patronage with many sides to it. Sanmar helps young cricketers through school and college, conducts tournaments for them and provides adult cricketers employment or professional cricket contracts. Through it all The Sanmar Group’s performances in domestic competitions has been of a consistently high quality. The late Chairman Emeritus KS Narayanan, chairman N Sankar, vice chairman N Kumar and deputy chairman Vijay Sankar represent three generations of a cricket loving family. The players and teams they have nurtured have done them proud. Sankar in fact has been president of both the TNCA and the MCC.
(Partab Ramchand is a veteran sports journalist and author of several books).