How the first Chennai Super Kings academy in Canada went from idea to reality

Ahead of the first ever Chennai Super Kings Academy in Canada opening on Oct. 1 in Brampton, Ont., The Inspired Indian was able to snatch a few minutes from the busy schedule of its founder, Kartik Venkatraman. 

In his interview, Kartik talks about how Chennai Super Kings Academy in Canada came to be, the plans for the future, and the growth of cricket in the country.

 

Hi Kartik, could you tell us a little bit about yourself?

I’m originally from Chennai, India, and I’ve been living in North America for over 15 years now. From a young age, sports were a big part of my life. I represented the state of Tamil Nadu in tennis and was also a competitive-level swimmer. Those early experiences shaped my outlook on discipline, competition, teamwork, and values.

My wife Janani is a playback singer for Tamil and Telugu movies, and she is the daughter of renowned music director Bharadwaj. I have a passion for building strong communities where people come together, connect, and grow. After living in the U.S., as well as Halifax, NS, I’m now settled in Milton, Ont., with my dad Venkatraman, my wife Janani, and my 10-year-old daughter Diya, who have been a constant source of support and grounding in everything I take on.

 

Could you tell me about your association with the Chennai Super Kings and their academy in Brampton?

My association with Chennai Super Kings began through common friends who connected us when CSK was exploring opportunities abroad. Through those conversations, my leadership experience in tech, media, events, and diaspora community leadership came into focus, and I was identified as the right person to lead their expansion into Canada.

We identified Brampton as the launch city, identified the right facility to launch in Canada, identified local coaches who were then trained under the Super Kings curriculum, and built a structured program that matched the standards of their academies in Chennai as well as the United States. 

I’m fortunate to have a close friend, Navin Stanly, my college buddy and former roommate, as a partner in this journey. The academy is built on the Super Kings philosophy: nurturing young cricketers with world-class training while instilling discipline, teamwork, and resilience. Our goal is to create not just better players, but well-rounded individuals who carry the Super Kings spirit both on and off the field.

 

What sort of setup does the academy boast of?

The Super Kings Academy in Brampton is housed at Manmohan Sports, a multi-sports facility that provides the perfect environment for young cricketers and their families. We have eight dedicated indoor cricket lanes, equipped with bowling machines that allow players to practice with precision and consistency. 

Sessions are structured to cover all aspects of the game, such as batting, bowling, fielding, and match scenarios, with the goal of helping players steadily improve under the Super Kings methodology.

What makes the setup unique is that it goes beyond just cricket. Since Manmohan Sports is a multi-sports facility, parents who bring their kids for training don’t have to sit idle during the two-hour sessions. The center also offers badminton and pickleball courts, so families can stay active and engaged while their children train. Add to that the fact that there is plenty of free parking available on-site, and it becomes a convenient, welcoming space for the whole family.

The GTA is known for its significant Indian-origin population. Was that the main reason behind setting it up in Brampton?

Brampton was a very natural choice for the Super Kings Academy’s first Canadian location. The GTA, and Brampton in particular, has one of the largest South Asian populations outside of India, and cricket is already deeply rooted here at the grassroots level. 

Brampton also has an active local cricketing culture, with leagues, young players, and families who are passionate about the sport and looking for structured, professional coaching. Setting up here allowed us to build on that foundation while introducing the international standards and values of the Super Kings Academy. We’ve received strong encouragement and recognition from local and provincial representatives, who have welcomed the academy as a positive addition to Brampton’s sporting landscape. 

What sort of challenges did you face in setting up the academy?

The first was infrastructure: cricket is still a developing sport in Canada, and finding the right facility that could meet international standards took time. Adapting the space into a high-performance cricket academy required planning and effort.

Another challenge was the cost of operating in Canada. Sports facilities here are not inexpensive, and when we first explored different locations, we had to accept that if we wanted to give young players the right environment, we had to make that investment.

We also had to navigate the challenge of marketing and awareness. Cricket is loved by the community, but getting the message out that the Super Kings Academy is here in Canada required careful planning. Deciding where to invest took a lot of trial and error to connect with families.

There were also hurdles like scheduling, getting the right coaches in place, visa processing for coaches coming in from India from the CSK cohort and ensuring we could deliver the Super Kings philosophy consistently in a Canadian context. 

 

What does the future hold for the CSK academy in Canada? Is there a chance that a Canadian will one day play in the IPL?

Our long-term vision is to create a wider network of academies across the country, so that young players, wherever they are, can access the same high standards of training and philosophy that Chennai Super Kings are known for. 

At the same time, players in Canada are already part of the global Super Kings Academy ecosystem. Even today, kids here from our Academy have the opportunity to travel and train alongside players in the U.S., vice versa. There are also active connections with academies in Britain and Australia

Because the Texas Super Kings franchise in Major League Cricket is directly connected to Chennai Super Kings, our players are automatically closer to competitive ecosystems that already exist today. That kind of exposure could lead to opportunities in leagues like Major League Cricket as well as the Indian Premier League. It’s a realistic and exciting bridge that Canadian talent can start leveraging immediately.

– by Gautam Viswanathan, Deputy Editor, The Inspired Indian