Of the 37 districts that are affiliated to the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA), Thiruvallur District Cricket Association (TDCA) happens to be one of the best run associations for the quality league they have. And recently, Standard Ambattur CC emerged as champions of Thiruvallur DCA League by winning the First Division title for the third consecutive time.
V Tharun Kumar, the captain of Standard Ambattur CC, is proud of his team’s achievements and attributes their success to hard work, systemic coaching, and players stepping up their game in crucial matches. “Winning the Thiruvallur District Championship this year was a very special moment for our entire team. We worked hard throughout the season and lifting the trophy made all the effort worth it and also we have won the Gopu T20 championship as well,” an elated Tharun told CE. “The feeling was amazing and emotional at the same time,” the 22-year-old added.
For Standard Ambattur CC, their batters performed in turns and posted good totals and this gave their bowlers the cushion to go for wickets. “Some of the amazing players for us this year were Nayef Ahmed, an aggressive left-handed batter, Vivek Ravi Chandran another top-order batter. Our main trump card and the ‘Mr Dependent’ was M Mathivanan left-arm spinner, and also he contributed with the bat whenever the team were in crunch situations,” he shared.
Tharun — who works and plays for Indian Bank in the TNCA league — insists that playing both the TDCA and TNCA leagues has improved the quality of his game. “I have been playing in the TDCA league for the past seven years and the Standard Ambattur team is like a family, more than a team to us. I have been playing First Division cricket for the last four seasons, and the experience has improved my confidence and game awareness as it’s almost equal to TNCA First Division league,” shared Tharun. “I have contributed as a top-order batter and left-arm spinner. Our toughest opponents are Seshadhri MCC. For the past two years we have met them in the finals. So it is more joy when we beat a strong team,” he added.
The TDCA First Division league was played in the IPL playoffs style and made it tougher for teams to secure the title. “Our coach Ganeshan sir has played a major role in building the team environment and keeping everyone motivated throughout the season. He has been taking care of this team for the past 36 years and he has so much knowledge about the game, it’s been a privilege to play under his guidance,” he said. “There is always room for improvement. We want to improve our consistency in crunch situations and become even stronger as a fielding unit. We practice regularly in local grounds around Chennai and Thiruvallur, along with match simulations and net sessions. We have a few talented youngsters in our squad who have great potential and some of them are N Karemagam, Ajith, Nayef Ahmed. With proper opportunities and hard work, they can definitely do well in Tamil Nadu age-group cricket in coming years,” he signed off.