Team morale is upbeat, says Ashwin

Excerpts:

ASHWIN: It’s the start of the tournament, everything will be fresh and obviously the wicket will be good to bat on, I hope. The team morale is upbeat... the fielding intensity and practice intensity has been very high. The coaching staff have been extremely good... both M Venkataramana and Kedar (VRS Guru Kedarnath). It’s a new team, so we are focusing on team bonding and practising together. Everything looks good, and hopefully we’ll have a good game on Wednesday.

VENKATARAMANA: We are looking at this edition as a new start for us, so past performances don’t really count for much. This is a new team and we focused on picking a strong batting department and all-rounders. We are looking forward to a good tournament.

VENKATARAMANA: Yazh Arun Mozhi is a promising off-spinner who was in the South Zone camp. Nivethan (Radhakrishnan) is a batting all-rounder who is only 16. Another is Trilok Nag, who is a medium-pacer.

ASHWIN: It is a great stage for youngsters to showcase their talent, the matches are being telecast live. Washington Sundar and Narayan Jagadeesan are two very good examples of players who got noticed and went on to play at a higher level after excelling in the TNPL.