Super Kings hungry for success

Super Kings hungry for success Monday, Mar 08 2010 Chennai: The Chennai Super Kings is hungry to win the title in the third Indian Premier League T20 Cricket tournament to be held between March 13 and April 25. To this end, the team will undergo training this week. At a Media briefing today, coach Stephen Fleming and skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni along with the team management reiterated their desire to win the third edition of the IPL, having come so close in the previous two tournaments. Dhoni, who arrived here yesterday, said the Super Kings had a good mix of all-rounders that offered him a lot more options in bowling. “We are quite a balanced side and would like to win the trophy this year,” he said. Fleming, exuded confidence saying: “The fact that we have a fair number of South African and Indian cricketers in our team will stand us in good stead especially considering that they are two top teams in One Day cricket in the World. “And with Mathew Hayden and Murali, it will be an explosive combination. It’s been an enjoyable experience for me - playing the first year and then coaching. It is a new challenge for me and it is something that I am executing with great confidence. Our core team remains the same and we look to another successful run in this year’s tournament too.” Team selector VB Chandrasekhar said: “We are looking forward to some good practice sessions over the next few days here in Chennai. I am happy since the majority of the players has been in the thick of action and therefore feel confident going in to the tournament.” Mr. TS Raghupathy, Executive President, India Cements Limited, said: “Expectations from our team is very high. We want to win the tournament this year. Our brand of cricket has won us millions of fans and we owe them a victory. The nucleus of our team has remained the same and I am sure we will be a formidable team. We are hungry for the title this year.” Mr Gurunath Meiyappan of the Super Kings said that over the past two seasons, the team has emerged as one of the most consistent teams in the competition. Further recognition of this has been witnessed with the team being ranked by an independent source, as the most valuable team going into the competition, he pointed out. The third season of the IPL is witnessing heightened excitement. Chennai Super Kings is the most favoured team to take the title. Ticket sales have been extremely encouraging with all tickets having been sold out for the first match. A promotion held recently for the Chennai Super Kings Fan Club, The Kings Club saw an overwhelming response. The Chennai Super Kings have been constantly evolving and innovating on several fronts. A first of its kind, the five-year merchandising tie-up with Oceanbed, has seen an infusion of a variety of novel merchandise for the fans. These are being sold through popular retail outlets like Landmark as well as through our website. A separate stand for the Kings Club members, presence and interactions with players during practice sessions are all initiatives that have established a very strong link between the people of Tamil Nadu and the team. A revamped website has won instant admirers and has everything a fan would want on the team. The interface is easy and quality of content, high. This year too, the Chennai Super Kings have an impressive list of sponsors.