After a few months of hiatus, has the launch of the TNPL brought you back to mainstream cricket?
The launch of TNPL is an initiative to help assess and develop cricketers from the region. It should not be taken as anything personal for me, the association had thought about it earlier and we thought this to be the right time to go ahead with it. I am thrilled with the response I have got, the people who have bid are not necessarily the people who have been sponsoring teams in the TNCA first division league. So a new group of people have come to cricket and that is noteworthy.
There has been a dearth of topflight cricket in the state. Do you think TNPL will bring some life back for the fans?
May be for some reasons the World T20 matches that were supposed to take place here didn't happen. But other than that, there's a lot of cricket going on in the state. There are 22 or 23 centres now and you will only get an international game once in every alternate year. It's true that IPL was a steady source of cricket but for now it's not there. I don't want to go into the fairness of what happened, but yes, CSK would miss two seasons, but then it will be back. In the meantime, a tournament like TNPL will be able to highlight the talent that is there.
Chennai is missing out on games due to the problem with the three stands. You had earlier planned of having a stadium in the outskirts of the city. Is that a possibility?
I hope issues around Chepauk will get resolved. We will only think of some other option if the situation is hopeless and I don't think we are even close to that. We have our priorities, the state government has its priorities -in the midst of all that it has taken a back seat but we I am still hopeful.
You have been away from the BCCI for a while now and there's no immediate chance of your return. Where do you see yourself as an administrator?
At the moment, I am on leave from whatever you are thinking. I am very busy taking care of my business and trying to improve my golf. One of my habits is that I don't speculate, I look at the present and at the moment I am trying to ensure that we have a highly successful TNPL and between that my business, golf etc will keep me busy .
Can you just explain the economics of TNPL?
The success of a league depends on its income from media rights and sponsorship. We have got Star to come in as a media partner and they have offered us a certain amount of money. If certain milestones are reached and more teams are taken in that will increase substantially. The gate revenue will also increase and it will become a bustling league. The broadcasters, the TNCA and all the franchises want to make it an outstanding league. Games will be played in the districts and it will show that cricket is not Chennai-centric.
But it's the stars who bring the sponsors. Do you think you will be able to have the stars on board, given the hectic international schedule?
I don't know about stars, I think good cricket brings in crowds. If the BCCI allows players from other states, the competition will increase. The important thing is that all other competitions including IPL can source talent from a tournament like this.
There has been a lot of talk about Ashwin leaving India Cements for Chemplast. What do you have to say as the MD of India Cements?
It's possible. The biggest rivalry here is for the first division league championship and for that many changes happen and I am used to it.
In the past few months there has been a lot of animosity between TNCA and the BCCI. What is your take on that?
There is no animosity between TNCA and BCCI. That might have been the perception but in real terms it was never there. Over a long period of time, TNCA 's relationship with the BCCI has been good and there has been no change to that.
So what was the reason behind TNCA missing out WT20 matches?
Maybe bad luck. TNCA has always been a very loyal member of the BCCI. We haven't got a game but that's fine, we'll get one later.
There have been changes proposed in ICC since your departure which can lead to the reduction in BCCI's share. What's your take?
I have always maintained that in public bodies like BCCI or ICC you do your best during your turn. And I do not comment on what happens after. I think that is a good practice because public should evaluate me for what I did and if there is a successor he should be evaluated on the basis of his actions.
It's been a while since all the controversies happened in BCCI. In retrospect, do you feel you could have handled things a little differently?
I still believe that there was no wrongdoing on my part. On several occasions there was extreme media hype which was unwarranted. But it has made me a most recognizable face, people compliment me on what I have done, so I am happy with that.
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