The Mumbai Ranji Trophy team, which finished as the runners-up to Gujarat in the last season, could well have a new coach for the upcoming season.
Rumours are that the Mumbai Cricket Association is looking to replace Chandrakant Pandit. Amre, who has already coached the Mumbai Ranji team for six seasons is the first choice to replace current coach Chandrakant Pandit, along with former India stumper Sameer Dighe.
Amre, who played 11 Test matches and 37 one-day internationals for India, is a coach who is well known for working with youngsters in the Mumbai cricket circuit. He has also been associated with the Delhi Daredevils coaching staff.
The CIC will meet on Tuesday to appoint coaches for Mumbai’s various age group teams. Once his name is finalised, he will look forward to quitting his current position.
“This is farcical. How can he be the CIC chairman one day, and suddenly become the Mumbai coach the next day? Even Agarkar was on the CIC panel which named him as the chief selector. These are former cricketers with impeccable integrity, but these things smack of a conflict of interest,” fumed a MCA official. “Amre is also the sports secretary of Air India and president of Shivaji Park Gymkhana, and he provides personalised coaching to a lot of top India cricketers. The MCA will have to address these conflict of interest issues seriously,” pointed out another official.
“He himself hasn’t proposed his name, but others on the CIC panel are requesting him to do the job since he’s the most experienced man to do it.Most ex-Mumbai cricketers are busy coaching some or the other state, where you get more money, and the pressure to win the Ranji Trophy is far lesser, as compared to Mumbai. Amre, we must remember, never left Mumbai even when he was offered handsome money by other domestic teams,” he explained.
“It is very important to provide the right coaching to budding cricketers at an early stage. My focus has always been on imparting the knowledge about having a good technique to young batsmen. And yes, I have been associated with many of the players who are representing Mumbai currently,” the 48-year old said.