While I have heard this pronunciation, I wouldn’t say the i is pronounced like the i in it or lit or lip. It’s usually more of a short ee as in beet, or like the cheereek in the Hebrew word simcha (as opposed to the longer cheereek in shira).
The name begins with the letter tzaddiq, pronounced as in tzaddik or tzedaka. Or tsunami.
And think of the el at the end like the le in little or kettle.
If you can pronounce a “Ts” sound at the start of the word, it isn’t a problem. Semitic and slavic languages usually can, Anglo-phones have a problem and usually substitute something else (consider such words as Tsadaka, Zionist, Tsures or Tzvi).