BackPravin Amre: The doctor for ailing batsmen
Pravin Amre is perhaps India's finest batting coach right now, transforming the fortunes of even experienced players
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Ramakant Achrekar was perhaps the first Indian coach who got global recognition because of his prodigious student, Sachin Tendulkar. Vinod Kambli too was Achrekar’s protégé. The grand old teacher of cricket had another Mumbai student—Tendulkar and Kambli’s contemporary, and for a brief period their colleague in the Indian team—Pravin Amre.
As a cricketer, Amre’s contribution has been humble; he played only 11 Tests and 37 One Day Internationals (ODIs). However, if Tendulkar made his guru immensely proud by his extraordinary success, Amre has now ensured that the legacy and philosophy of Achrekar’s school of coaching does not diminish.
Amre may just be the most successful batting coach in India right now. And if Achrekar was restricted to Mumbai, Amre is open to everyone from all parts of the country.
In 2011, he started a cricket academy in Mumbai, called Amre’s Cricket Club, for children. He is, however, more famous for helping Mumbai win two Ranji Trophy titles in his first three years as head coach. Over the past few months, Amre’s work as a personal batting coach for some of India’s fine talents has been widely appreciated. The list includes Robin Uthappa, Suresh Raina, Ajinkya Rahane and Naman Ojha.
They have all been guided, mentored and helped by Amre during some of the most difficult periods of their careers. The players’ fortunes have been turned around, though with varying degrees of success. In a way, Amre is a trendsetter occupying a very particular niche: If you are a batsman in the Indian team and see your form dropping, go to Amre to get your technique fixed.
“He is like a family doctor who is aware of everything from the very beginning," says Raina, adding: “He has seen me from my (Lucknow) hostel days."
Since the 2013 Champions Trophy in England, Raina had scored just one half-century till the start of the England ODI series earlier this year. Owing to his poor form, he even found himself out of the Indian squad after the tour of New Zealand in January. He went to Amre, who told him to stay positive, for such phases are part and parcel of a professional cricketer’s life.
Raina went on to make a stunning comeback to the national side. The Uttar Pradesh batsman’s constant struggle with short-pitch bowling became a thing of the past on the England tour, where he was the Man of the Series. Since the tour, Raina has hit one century and two fifties in six matches.
“He (Amre) makes lots of notes. Observes (technique, temperament and overall performance) minutely on TV and comes up with important and relevant suggestions," says Raina.
Like Raina, friend and contemporary Uthappa also made a comeback in the Indian ODI team after a gap of almost six years—during the Bangladesh tour in June. Uthappa was rewarded for his excellent domestic season (his state team, Karnataka, dominated the season), which was followed by an outstanding Indian Premier League (IPL) season 7 (660 runs in 16 matches, the highest aggregate score in the tournament).
In 2012, Amre asked Uthappa to come over to Mumbai from Bangalore. For the next two years, he worked on his physical training, mindset and batting technique; the changes have been evident since Uthappa looks more composed, playing more in the “V" (a mid-on, mid-off area). He is no longer a midwicket slogger.
“It was one (asking Amre for help) of the most significant decisions I have made in my life. I will continue to work with sir in future but I am glad that he agreed to work with me when I approached him," says the Karnataka opener.
Amre, like a good coach, prefers to give the credit to his students. For it is not easy for a current international player to approach a domestic coach.
“I will give credit to Robin, who came up to me for the first time saying that he needed help. It was a big thing from him since a lot of players who have played for India would find it tough to admit that they need help," says Amre.
So far, it has been a satisfying journey for the 46-year-old. Now in charge of the Mumbai Ranji team for the second time, Amre started his coaching career with Under-13 players at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana club in Mumbai. Then he graduated to coaching stints with the Air India team, the Mumbai Ranji team, and the Mumbai Indians and now defunct Pune Warriors in the IPL.
“This is entirely a different kind of challenge as a coach for me," Amre says of his personal stints with Team India players. “As a team coach, one can’t give enough attention to one individual but as a personal coach you can work with different individuals according to their specific requirements. I have known Raina since he was a teenager and the England tour was a make or break tour for him. Positive talks helped him regain his confidence."
Apart from Uthappa and Raina, Amre has also shaped Rahane’s resurgence as a top-quality batsman. Before the England tour in July, Rahane spent almost a week in the company of Amre to work out a strategy against the swing/seam challenge.
“Initially, I was a bit hesitant since I was going against the tide," Amre says. “Cricket is a team game and working as a personal coach was not welcomed by everyone. But I thought that if a player is benefited from my experience or guidance, then the runs will ultimately help a team. As was the case with Uthappa in the IPL and Raina and Rahane on the recent England tour."
Uthappa, who has played 41 ODIs and 11 Twenty20s for India, endorses this theory.
“I also think every cricketer, whether a bowler or a batsman, should work with a coach who is accountable for him," says Uthappa. “Someone you can trust, someone you can fall back on when going through tough periods."
Amre finds it challenging to juggle his role as the Mumbai Ranji team’s head coach and his personal engagements with Team India players, but he has no doubts about the importance of a personal coach.
“This is the future of coaching. I believe there is a great scope for personal bowling (fast bowling and spin bowling), wicketkeeping and fielding coaches," he says. “This is going to be a huge platform in the future as we already see that players like (Shane) Watson have their own personal physiotherapist and trainers."
Before the home series against the West Indies, Amre invited Tendulkar to discuss some aspects of Rahane’s batting in Mumbai. Perhaps Rahane’s recent success is even more special to Amre since he always believed he would make a mark in international cricket. After Tendulkar’s retirement, Rahane and Rohit Sharma are the big hopes from the Mumbai pool of batsmen.
“I am very proud of my guru (Achrekar) and I tell all my players that whatever I teach them I have learnt from him," Amre says. “I am just passing on that knowledge to the new generation." Perhaps Achrekar couldn’t have asked for better gurudakshina than this.
Vimal Kumar is the author of Sachin: Cricketer Of The Century.
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