Not wanted by India, Amre stars for Boland

What does a player, who feels that he is not getting enough recognition, do? Does he just accept getting a raw deal as bad luck and retire from the game early? Or does he try and fight back by continuing to do well on the field with a determination to catch the selectors' eye again?

Pravin Amre certainly has gone for the second alternative. Remember him? He is the one who scored a century on Test debut against South Africa in 1992. Naturally enough, a bright future was predicted for him but the jinx that seemed to have hit every Indian batsman who scored a century in his first Test, except for GR Viswanath and Md Azharuddin, seemed to have spread to Amre too. He did not another hundred and his career was restricted to just eleven Tests, spread over less than a year. He also played 37 ODI's, the last during the 1993-94 season.

Amre had forced himself in the Indian team - and into a very competitive middle order batting line up - following some tall scores in domestic cricket. A neat and compact player who had both splendid strokes and a sound defence, Amre hit centuries - including a double hundred - in all three Duleep Trophy matches in 1989-90. Even after being discarded, Amre continued to be among the runs for Rajasthan and Railways, for whom he played as a professional. But there was just no way that he could catch the selector's attention.

Indian cricketers have done well in county cricket in England. And there are a few who have made a name for themselves in the Sheffield Shield in Australia. But Amre chose a hitherto uncharted course. Unable to catch the selectors' eye with his deeds at home, Amre proceeded to South Africa to try his luck in the tough domestic circuit there. And during the current season he has made good, playing a leading role in Boland making the final of the limited overs tournament, the Standard Bank Cup. Amre is the third highest scorer for his side with 267 runs from ten games with one fifty. Boland now play Gauteng in the final. Gauteng finished the eleven team league on top with 35 points followed by Boland with 31.

The first Indian to play domestic cricket in South Africa, Amre had scored 80 in the opening match against a Natal attack that included Shaun Pollock. In first class cricket, Amre has scored 244 runs with a highest score of 71 not out. Thanks to his efforts, two Mumbai sides have been invited to take part in a tournament to be organised by the University of Stellenbosch next month.

The main point however is whether the 31-year-old Amre's fine performances in South Africa will catch the attention of the five men whose opinion counts the most. Obviously the stout hearted cricketer has still a lot to offer Indian cricket. Can he stage a dramatic comeback into the Test team after nearly seven years? If he does, it would constitute one of the greatest comeback stories in Indian cricket and a big boost for the never say die folks.