“They give a lot of bonuses” – Former Chennai franchise player reveals how does the franchise takes care of their players
Former New Zealand and Chennai franchise All rounder Scott Styris has revealed a heartwarming gesture from the Indian T20 League franchise for one of its former players. The 47-year-old recalled that the Chennai franchise had flown Albie Morkel’s father in business class as he had never travelled to India.
Former South African all-rounder Albie Morkel was one of the key members of the Chennai franchise in the initial years of the Indian T20 League. He represented the franchise from 2008 to 2013, making some significant contributions with both the bat and ball.
“His father had never been to India, so Chennai Franchise flew him business, not in the contract; they didn’t have to do it,” revealed Styris on Jiocinema’s ‘Legends Lounge’.
Styris represented Chennai in the 2011 edition of the Indian T20 League. He could not make much of an impact since he only played in a couple of matches.
Raina was one of the stalwarts of the Chennai franchise for many years. His long association with the team ended after the 2021 edition. The franchise surprisingly didn’t bid for the Indian T20 League legend in the 2022 edition of the auction as they went unsold.
You always feel like doing something special for them: Suresh Raina
“They give a lot of bonuses, too. You always feel like doing something special for them; you felt like a pampered kid,” said Raina who was also a part of the panel along with Chris Gayle, Parthiv Patel, Robin Uthappa, Scott Styris and Anil Kumble.
Chennai and Mumbai are the two most successful Indian T20 League franchises in the history of the league. While Mumbai have won the title five times, Chennai have been crowned as champions four times. However, both teams struggled in the 2022 edition, finishing at the bottom of the points table.
Both franchises finished with eight points each, winning four and losing 10 matches. Chennai finished ahead of Mumbai in the points table on the basis of having a better net run rate. They will be looking to change their fortunes in the upcoming edition as they’ve added some star players in their squad in the recent auction.
Chennai bought the England all rounder Ben Stokes for 16.25 crore while Mumbai bought Cameron Green for 17.5 crore.
