K S Viswanathan appointed managing director of Chennai Super Kings

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Following the UltraTech Cement acquisition of India Cements, the Chennai Super Kings (CSK) board has elevated a long-time confidant of promoter N Srinivasan, K S Viswanathan, as the managing director of the Indian Premier League (IPL) franchise.

CSK has posted a four-fold jump in net profit for FY24 to Rs 229 crore, compared to Rs 52 crore in FY23.

"It is proposed to appoint K S Viswanathan as a managing director of the company for a period of three years on the terms as detailed in the resolutions with effect from January 19, 2025, and he will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the company," said the CSK annual report.

Viswanathan has been associated with the company as director from 2014 to 2016 and as whole-time director from 2018 till date. He has experience in cricket and sports-related activities, and his association with the game spans over five decades, according to the report. He served as an executive committee member from 1996 to 2002, as an assistant secretary from 2003 to 2006, and finally as secretary from 2007 to 2017 in the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). He was also a member of various committees of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) from 2005 to 2015.

Under the guidance of Viswanathan, the CSK team has won five IPL titles, appeared in 10 IPL finals, and have qualified for the playoff stages 12 times. During his tenure of office, the “Super Kings Academy”, a training centre for budding cricketers, was started in the year 2022-23 and has its presence across Tamil Nadu and two overseas locations. About 1,100 students were trained, and a few of them represented Tamil Nadu across different age groups and participated in the ‘TNCA League’.

Besides the above, the company owns and operates the ‘Joburg Super Kings’ franchise through its overseas subsidiary, Joburg Super Kings (Pty) Ltd, in South Africa (SA20). The team finished as semi-finalists in Season 2 of SA20. The company increased its global footprint by being part of the Major League Cricket in the United States through Texas Super Kings International LLC. During the year, Texas Super Kings International LLC participated in the first season of Major League Cricket under the team name Texas Super Kings and finished as semi-finalists.