CSK set up new Super Kings academy in Sydney
The Chennai Super Kings (CSK) have confirmed the opening of a Super Kings academy in Sydney, Australia, making it the franchise's third global facility. They already have centers in Dallas, USA, and Reading, UK.
The academy in Sydney will be at Cricket Central, 161, Silverwater Road, Sydney Olympic Park. It will provide indoor and outdoor training facilities throughout the year, with cricket coaching commencing in September.
CSK CEO Kasi Viswanathan was delighted with the opening of a third global academy and said, as quoted by Sportstar:
"We are happy to extend our special journey with Australia, which began with the inception of IPL in 2008. Australia is a champion country with a strong sporting culture and rich cricketing legacy. The Super Kings Academy will tap into and help groom cricketers, both boys and girls, adding to the already strong system in the country."
He added:
"Geographical boundaries are shrinking rapidly in cricket over the last few years. With presence in India, USA, UK and now Australia, we have the opportunity to develop the next generation of cricketers through our world class facilities, strong coaching curriculum, exchange programmes and more."
CSK is the joint-most successful IPL franchise with five titles (tied with the Mumbai Indians).
CSK endured a disappointing 2024 IPL season
The Chennai-based franchise had a disappointing 2024 IPL season, missing the playoffs for only the third time in their incredible 15-year history.
Ruturaj Gaikwad took over the captaincy reign from long-time skipper MS Dhoni a day before the start of the season. Despite being in a solid position at the halfway stage, the franchise struggled for consistency in the second half of the season.
They eventually suffered a 27-run loss to arch-rivals Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in a do-or-die final group stage encounter. They were consequently eliminated from playoff contention.
Skipper Gaikwad led the way with the bat for the side, finishing with 583 runs at an average of 53 and a strike rate of 141.16. Meanwhile, pacer Tushar Deshpande led the wicket-taking charts for the team with 17 scalps in 13 outings.
CSK fans will be buoyed for next season by the fact that the side has never missed the playoffs in back-to-back IPL editions.