TNCA to start an academy in Chennai

Lakshmipathy Balaji: a heck of a find, but Tamil Nadu want more © Getty Images

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has announced that it is setting up a cricket academy in Chennai to nurture local talent. Tamil Nadu has reached the finals of the Ranji Trophy in the last two years, but the association is clearly not resting on its laurels, and has also decided to lay turf wickets in every district of the state.

According to UNI, an Indian news agency, these initiatives were announced by N Srinivasan, the TNCA's president, at the 74th annual day function of the association. Srinivasan, announcing the developments, said that "we will continue to strive for the development of the game".

Tamil Nadu cricket has seen a resurgence of sorts recently. Besides the two appearences in the Ranji finals, they have also had cricketers breaking through to the national team, most notably L Balaji, who made a positive impression on India's victorious tour of Pakistan. Hemang Badani has also made a comeback to India's one-day squad, and Dinesh Karthik, the young wicketkeeper-batsman, is being spoken of highly as a future prospect.