Hayden to discuss academy plans

Matthew Hayden will meet Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) President N Srinivasan on Saturday to discuss his academy's plans.

Hayden said he was getting former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, his coach at Chennai Super Kings, and ex-India captain Rahul Dravid on board to assist him in running the academy, to be set up on the lines of the Australian Institute of Sports.
"I will meet Mr Srinivasan tomorrow (Saturday). Things will take shape after my meeting with him. It will be a full-fledged academy like the one in Australia," Hayden, who is in Chennai to shoot a commercial, said.

"I have been discussing the issue with them (TNCA). We will have Stephen and Rahul to assist in running of the academy. The ultimate goal is to find players who have the potential to play for India and hone their skills to achieve that goal," Hayden added.

TNCA secretary Kasi Visawanathan also confirmed that Hayden would discuss his proposal with Srinivasan, who is also the BCCI secretary.

"It is in the initial stages. We have been having discussions with Hayden on this. He will also witness some of the ongoing first division and other league matches here. He will basically scout for talents," Viswanathan said.

Asked whether the academy would come up, the TNCA official said, "Everything will be finalised after the meeting. As of now, it is only in the proposal stage.
"CSK will definitely have state-of-the art facilities at the academy. Hayden will also have the services of Fleming and Dravid, who is employed with India Cements (of which Srinivasan is the Managing Director).

"It will be a full-fledged set-up on the lines of National Cricket Academy, with trainers, physios and coaches for every aspect of the game. We will also rope in specialists to train fast and spin bowlers besides engaging wicket-keeping coaches," he said.

"It will be within Chennai only. We will also have an academy solely for the district cricketers, who are not part of the city league. The district academy will be set up in Tirunelveli (Thazhayuthu), where we already have excellent facilities with good turf wickets," Viswanathan added.

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