Every cricketer faces ups and downs in their career. India's Test vice-captain Ajinkya Rahane is no different. He is going through the same phase and is seen struggling big time to get runs.
He might be out of touch but former India batsman Pravin Amre still has faith in Rahane. He is confident that the out of form batsman will do well in South Africa.
“For a cricketer, what has happened in the past, is history. He (Rahane) is going to South Africa and he has to be really positive. The last time he played in South Africa (in 2013), he averaged 69.67. The team management and selectors have a lot of faith in him and that is why he is the vice-captain of the team. I am sure in the coming tour, he will live up to people’s expectations and will deliver the goods,” Amre said on the sidelines of an award function organized by Dr. Dayal Foundation.
Amre knows Rahane's cricket better than any other person. Rahane has often hired Amre to be his personal coach.Pravin Amre thinks Rahane should figure out the areas he needs to work on.
"We worked as a team. Whenever he was successful, he got 100 in each innings, you congratulated me. When he is going through a tough time, it is equally my responsibility to figure out where exactly it is going wrong.
"I personally feel it is my job to go through the details and work on (them) and make sure he is ready for this battle," he added.
Asked whether scoring overseas would help him, Amre said, "We always judge how a player plays abroad. I think that is a big advantage he has. He should believe in that because he has that capacity to do well.
"He is working really hard because this is important for team India and his contribution as a batting unit is very important. His role is there to deliver for India."
Amre is best remembered for his first century on his Test debut in South Africa, when he had faced a fearsome South African attack and had rescued the team which was teetering at 38-4 at Durban.
And from his experience, the Mumbai batsman says all good batsman adjust to conditions quickly. India will tour South Africa for a three-Test, six-ODI and three-Twenty20 series, starting 5 January.
"This tour will be more challenging because there are no practice games. They have to really visualize themselves and how things will happen.
"It is going to be challenging. We are going to play three matches. The first Test will be so critical. Whoever starts well will have the advantage. It will be difficult to bounce back," he added.
Amre also said Rohit Sharma has got runs in the longer format.
"One good innings for Rohit also can make the difference. It is a matter of time. He is right now the key member of our teams batting unit. So it is the responsibility of six batsmen and not one to win the Test series in South Africa," the 49-year-old former player added.
Amre has also mentored Shreyas Iyer, who recently made his ODI and T20 for India. He also guided him in the Delhi Dareveils team in the Indian Premier League.
Amre said he was glad that whenever Iyer counted the opportunity he got.
"He (Iyer) knows the value of being in the team and he knows the competition. To survive there, one has to perform and he is doing that. I hope he gets his maiden 100 quickly. It is early days and he is a different type of a player. On a day, he can be the match winner," Amre signed off.
