IPL 2025: CSK's Noor Ahmed, Vijay Shankar give tips to academy kids in Vanagaram, Chennai

IANS May 17, 2025 256 views

Chennai Super Kings stars Noor Ahmad and Vijay Shankar recently interacted with young cricket enthusiasts at the Super Kings Academy in Vanagaram, Chennai. The event featured valuable advice and insights from both players, touching on topics such as self-improvement and the importance of parental support. The Super Kings Academy, boasting over 25 international locations, emphasizes comprehensive cricket education for aspiring players. Despite CSK's current position at the bottom of the IPL 2025 table, their commitment to youth development remains strong.

"Even Sachin Tendulkar said learning never stops." - Vijay Shankar
Chennai, May 16: Chennai Super Kings cricketers Noor Ahmad and Vijay Shankar visited the Super Kings Academy centre at SV High School in Vanagaram, Chennai, for a special session with the children on Friday.

Key Points

1

Noor Ahmad focuses on bowling well not just wickets

2

Vijay Shankar advises self-improvement over comparisons

3

CSK Academy offers expert coaching globally

Lakshmi Narayanan (Chennai Super Kings High Performance Analyst), Louis Mariano (Director of Cricket, Super Kings Academy), Rajiv Krishna (Managing Director, SV High School), Moushmi Rajiv (Director, SV High School), and Dhivakar (MI Sports) were the other guests of honour.

Super Kings Academy has more than 25 centres spread across India, the United States of America, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

During an interaction with the school children, all-rounder Vijay Shankar advised them not to waste time thinking about what others are doing and rather invest that time in their own improvement.

"It is always a special feeling to come to any academy. Starting your journey from academy cricket to state-level cricket and then going step by step, it is a never-ending thing. Even Sachin Tendulkar, towards the end of his career, said that learning is one thing that never stops.

He advised all the parents to support their children at all times -- in their highs and lows.

"To all parents, if not for my parents, I would not have been here. As parents, please support your kids at any point, be it highs or lows. Another thing I learnt from MS Dhoni - whether it is highs or lows, try to remain neutral. At one point, I had a dream of standing and giving a speech to you students, today I am able to do that. So dream of all these things. Wishing you all the very best. Whatever you do, enjoy your cricket."

On the occasion, Afghanistan spinner Noor Ahmad said he does not think too much about taking wickets during the match but rather tries to bowl well.

"I don't think a lot about taking wickets. When I go to the nets, my focus is not just on wickets. My focus is just to bowl well, bowl in the right areas, and wickets are the result. If I bowl in the right place, then wickets will come. I don't think about so many things - who is the batter, but I always focus on my own strengths and how I can apply them against the batter. I keep it simple."

The Super Kings Academy is a coaching centre for boys and girls with state-of-the-art infrastructure and expert coaching with more than 25 academies across India, the USA, the UK, and Australia.

Launched in April 2022, the academy is currently operational in Chennai, Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Salem, Trichy, Hosur, Tirunelveli, Karaikudi, Vellore, Madurai, Tenkasi, Puducherry and Delhi in India apart from international centres in Reading (United Kingdom), Dallas (USA), Phoenix (USA), Austin (USA), Boston (USA), Atlanta (USA), Bay Area (USA) and Sydney (Australia).

The Chennai Super Kings are currently out of contention in the IPL 2025 as they are at the bottom of the points table with six points from 12 matches.

Reader Comments

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Priya K.
What a wonderful initiative by CSK! 👏 It's heartwarming to see players giving back to the community like this. Vijay Shankar's advice about parents supporting kids is so crucial - in India we often put too much pressure on young athletes. More teams should organize such sessions!
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Rahul S.
Noor Ahmed's approach is so mature for his age! "Bowl well and wickets will come" - this is exactly what young Indian spinners need to hear. Our domestic cricket often focuses too much on results rather than process. Hope these kids absorb these golden words!
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Arjun M.
While I appreciate CSK's global academy expansion, I wish they'd focus more on tier-2/3 Indian cities first. Places like Ranchi, Guwahati or Dehradun need such facilities more than Dallas or Sydney. Hope they expand domestically before going international.
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Sneha P.
The Dhoni influence is clear in Vijay's words about staying neutral in highs and lows. 🧡 So proud of our CSK culture being passed on! These academy kids are lucky to get such life lessons along with cricket training. Wishing them all the best!
K
Karthik V.
Interesting to see an Afghan player mentoring Indian kids - shows how IPL bridges cultures! Noor's simple approach to bowling is something our young pacers should adopt too. Less overthinking, more execution - that's the key to success in T20 cricket.
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Neha R.
As a mother whose son attends cricket coaching, I really connected with Vijay's message to parents. In India we're too quick to criticize when kids don't perform. We need to be their pillars of support, not additional pressure. Time to change our mindset! 🙌

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IPL 2025 Chennai Super Kings Noor Ahmad Vijay Shankar Cricket Academy Chennai