Mumbai should follow Karnataka in giving voting rights to former players: Praveen Amre

It’s a question that’s long been discussed in the Indian cricketing circles - will former Indian cricketers make for good administrators? Former Indian Test cricketer and Mumbaikar, Praveen Amre, will soon find out if he wins the Mumbai Cricket Association election for a post in the management committee. [caption id=“attachment_2296980” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File photo of Praveen Amre (R). AFP.[/caption] Amre, who is regarded as one of the best batting coaches around, has helped quite a few prominent cricketers in the recent past with perfecting their technique. Ajinkya Rahane, Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina have all benefited from the tutelage of Amre. He is also the coach of the Mumbai Ranji team and the assistant coach of Delhi Daredevils. Shreyas Iyer, a Mumbai-kid who played for Daredevils in this year’s IPL, gave a lot of credit to Amre for helping him with his technique. He went on to become the league’s emerging player of the year. And now Amre, a former student of Ramakant Achrekar, is in the middle of the Cricket First-Pawar group tussle as Mumbai cricket gets ready for the biannual elections on Wednesday. “My sole intention is Mumbai cricket’s development. Today, Mumbai needs quality cricket and not quantity. For example, instead of having so many centers for MCA Summer camps it is important that we streamline them,” Amre told the Mid-Day newspaper in a report published on 15 June. He added that the issue of over-age cricketers has also long been ignored by the administration because of vote-bank politics. When asked why former Mumbai cricketers - some of whom are stalwarts - refrain from entering administration, Amre explained that he himself had to fight with Air India for over 20 years to get a vote in MCA elections, despite being a long-time servant. “Why not have an honorary voting right for cricketers with repute? The reason for Karnataka State Cricket Association’s success is that they have given cricketers voting rights to choose the right candidate,” suggested Amre. Speaking to Firstpost, Vijay Patil had mentioned the importance of getting back the Kanga League - a tournament that had been held every year since 1948 during the monsoon rains until two years back. “Kanga League was the flagship and it defined Mumbai cricket in many ways. It was the start of the cricket season. It had its own challenges – playing on wet wickets – and it was something everyone looked forward to. It was such a tradition. To just do something drastic is not something that is a sign of good administration and planning.” Amre, in his Mid-day interview, backed that idea, saying that cricketers these days have no chance of making a comeback if the fail in the Ranji level. “Playing during monsoons helped your mind get trained to play tough cricket. I scored a century on debut in Durban because of Kanga League exposure,” said Amre.