Amre shows the way for freelance coaching
It's good to note that former cricketers like Pravin Amre are able to give back to the sport what they learnt from guru Ramakant Achrekar. The sudden transformation for Suresh Raina came after some good "mental sessions" with Amre, whose stature as a private coach is now rising.
Such is the magic of one-day cricket that it can make one forget even excruciating losses suffered in Test cricket a short while ago.
The gap between Tests and ODIs in England was not long, yet in that span of time, skipper MS Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher had to face intense media scrutiny, and rightly so. The moment India slipped back into winning mode in the shorter form of cricket, all talk is about winning again.
Till some time ago, Suresh Raina was the butt of ridicule when he played abroad as he was unable to score on tracks which offered something to the pace bowlers.
Call it a metamorphosis or getting into the right mode mentally, Raina was able to conquer the demons and hammer a hundred in style in the second ODI.
As reported by Mail Today, the sudden transformation for Raina came after some good "mental sessions" with Pravin Amre, whose stature as a private coach is now rising.
We all know that in a sport like cricket, coaches are usually associated with a batsman or a bowler in the initial stage of development. From the time a budding player picks up a bat or starts bowling with a tennis ball, then a cork ball and then the red leather cherry, it's all about individual efforts.
It's only when the player starts performing and gets associated with a good local club that he gets assistance from coaches. In a place like Delhi, there are so many coaching 'shops' being run by former cricketers who have played club cricket or domestic cricket.
The more business-like former international cricketers are ready to lend their name to an academy where fundamentals are imparted and youngsters turn up in whites for nets.
The way cricket is played has changed drastically over the years and emphasis is no longer on what was called 'copybook'. It's not just Raina who has gained from Amre, who played 11 Tests and 37 ODIs for India.
Amre has made a mark with his ability to help out a few other well-known cricketers like Ajinkya Rahane, Robin Uthappa and Naman Ojha as well.
By Amre's own admission, his job varies from case to case and he is quite happy doing a freelance job sitting in Mumbai. He knows he will not be travelling with Team India and whatever contributions he is going to make will be from home.
You and I may think that Amre needs to be present at the nets to iron out the chinks but so advanced has technology become today that the guru can see it all on television. Today, TV replays and videos are available easily and for a coach to spot any major chink is not a problem.
Then again, just as the top tennis professionals from Roger Federer to Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic hire the best personal coaches for working on technique and tactics, cricket is seeing a new trend emerging.
It's good to note that former cricketers like Amre are able to give back to the sport what they learnt from guru Ramakant Achrekar. Today, cricketers are professionals and have a right to earn, be it an active player or anyone offering assistance.
The days of charity are over when Bishan Singh Bedi offered tips to almost anyone who wanted his guidance, be it a player from India or overseas. One of India's best left-arm spinners has a sharp cricketing brain and never minces words when he has to be critical.
One does not expect the newage freelance coaches in India to offer free service like Bishan paaji, but they should take pride in what they do. Amre, for instance, was able to work with Rahane differently, as the latter lacked power in his shots.
Amre relied on "baseball techniques" to improve Rahane's hitting in the shorter format of cricket where generating power in shots is important. And the results are there to see.
Before this, one also heard of India opener Gautam Gambhir taking help from Tamil Nadu's W.V. Raman to help him out with his technique. Cricket is now an art and a science thanks to the three distinct formats.
Gambhir and Raman were part of the same IPL franchise - KKR - but the time has come when more batsmen and bowlers could be seeking professional help as they have the money to do it.
If people like Amre and Raman are recognised for their contributions as coaches, there are former bowlers who have also helped. Manoj Prabhakar has been readily available for teaching budding bowlers the art of reverse swing.
There are some more names like Subroto Banerjee, T.A. Sekhar and Narendra Hirwani, who offer valuable insight to bowlers.
So the day is not far when we could have a Team India captain planning strategy and tactics with "foreign coaches" while cricketers seek professional help from personal coaches for perfection in technique.
Dangerous for the likes of Fletcher, isn't it?
s.kannan@mailtoday.in