Chennai has many icons, landmarks and brands, most of which are decades or centuries old. These include numerous British-era buildings, places of worship and the Marina. A stone’s throw from the seashore stands another icon of Chennai — the Chepauk Stadium, aka M.A Chidambaram Stadium. Established in 1916, it is the oldest cricket stadium in India that is still in use.
Chepauk has witnessed some sensational matches and pulsating finishes. The 1986 test between Australia and India had the spectators on the edge of their seats. Fortunes fluctuated and the match ended in a tie. The India-Pakistan test of 1999 is still fresh in the memory of fans. The match yet again showed to the world why the Chepauk spectators are described as knowledgeable and sporting. When Pakistan won, there was a moment of stunned silence but as the players made their lap of honour around the field, an unseen force propelled the spectators to stand and cheer them on. Here in Chennai, a good game of cricket is all we ask for. Or maybe, it’s the effect Chepauk has on you.
As newer formats came up, Chepauk adapted and became the home to Chennai Super Kings, the youngest and possibly the most successful of Chennai brands, with an international fan base. No one can really explain the phenomenon that CSK is today, not even N. Srinivasan, Vice-Chairman and Managing Director, India Cements, the company that won the franchise for the team.
Mr. Srinivasan says: “We were the first to employ cricketers and by doing so, we discovered [cricketing] talent from all over the country,” he says. At one point the entire Tamil Nadu Ranji Trophy team was under his employ. He has created and nurtured a brand that is the most popular in the IPL tournament — the Chennai Super Kings.
Aside from their love for cricket, Chennaiites are stubborn when it comes to their Tamil identity, something they have been defending for decades. Then how did players like Dhoni and Raina get nicknames like ‘Thala’ and ‘Chinna Thala’ or a South African player like Imran Taheer earn the moniker ‘Parasakthi Express’ and be adopted as Chennai’s own? The cricket-crazy city has opened its hearts to them and the answer lies in Chepauk. This stadium is emotional while it is magical and quickly took on yellow as its colour. The lion roared from every corner while the sun shone over the field or the floodlights bathed the ground. Whistles rang from every seat and painted, yellow faces grinned at the camera panning over the stadium. Since 2008, it has always been Yellove and Whistle Podu.
Despite hardly any players from the State in the regular playing eleven, the team was popular and Mr. Srinivasan believes the reason is Dhoni who brought success, flamboyance and lustre. “I remember him exploring the city on his motorbike as a simple man wanting to connect with the place,” Mr. Srinivasan says. Anybody who saw him saw an honest man who liked the city. As far as the India Cements management was concerned, they left all cricketing matters to Dhoni and Stephen Fleming — the captain-coach duo. The team rejoiced in this confidence reposed in them.
CSK’s influence spread throughout the city in houses painted yellow, merchandise stores or posters on bedroom walls. Chepauk was just a centre and the brand’s presence radiated from it. CSK fans sprang into a flash mob at Fruit Shop on Greams Road in 2012, which was emulated by fans worldwide. “The ultimate strength of a brand is its ability to connect fans from a completely different geographical location,” says Ambi Parameswaran, a brand strategy expert and Founder, brand-building.com.
However, both CSK and Chepauk have had tough years. The team was banned from the 2016 and ‘17 seasons of the IPL on charges of spot-fixing and betting. Chennaiites were shell-shocked. CSK’s return in 2018 was celebrated as a festival but once again problems struck. The Cauvery riots forced the team to shift their home-base to Pune but the fans followed, cheering all the way to MCA Stadium, Pune. The team management even organised a train to ferry fans to Pune. With Nippon Paint’s CSK yellow, the signature colour has entered homes. “CSK has bred the next generation of fans already,” says Sridhar Ramanujam, a brand expert and CEO and Founder, brand-comm.
Typical of Chennai, where people like to remain low-key, the CSK management stayed out of the limelight, letting the fans and the team’s accomplishments do the talking. The brand built itself. Choosing the team’s jersey colours was obvious — most teams would opt for the Indian blue and yellow was seen as a colour denoting victory. An advertisement elicited 22,000 responses and CSK was chosen as the most popular name. Ultimately, says Mr. Srinivasan, the team belongs to the fans!
“CSK and Chepauk are always connected for me; there is nothing better than watching your team play in your stadium,” says a fan.
