Coaches should not tamper with player's originality: Pravin Amre

Praveen Amre

New Delhi, May 17 (IANS) Former India batsman and Delhi Daredevils assistant coach Pravin Amre believes coaches should give multiple solutions to batsmen without tampering with their originality.

Credited with guiding talented batsmen like Ajinkya Rahane, Robin Uthappa and Suresh Raina, Amre has earned a reputation for helping players grow, regroup and iron out their flaws.

"You can't and shouldn't change their original identity (of a batsman) and that's what I look to do. When a player comes to me with a problem, I need to understand it in totality and find a solution. Therefore, it is important to know and understand their history and try get to the root of it," Amre was quoted as saying by iplt20.com on Sunday.

"I visualise various options and how they will benefit them and work to find the simplest way out. I don't touch their natural talent or make unnecessary changes. I try and make sure that their natural style remains intact."

"I try to add 10 to 20 percent to their game which makes a lot of difference. I offer them multiple solutions and we work to find what suits them best, which helps them play their own game with ease," he added.

Asked about batting in a T20 game and handling the pressure, he said: "I look at every case as a challenge and try to understand the player's personality to be able to find solutions. We agree that technique is important, but at the same time delivering is important, especially in T20. Today the batsmen are under more pressure."

"There is little margin for error in T20. The pressure builds with every dot ball and it can force the player to play a bad shot even if they have the technique. It is pertinent that they back themselves. Once you have the technique you will have other alternatives."

Having coached Mumbai for the Ranji Trophy and stints with other IPL franchises, Amre feels coaching in the T20 league is far more challenging.

"It is more challenging (coaching in the IPL), to be honest, because the players are not only from all over India but also from overseas. I am saying that because for six years I coached only Mumbai."

"Here, with the Delhi Daredevils, there are overseas players also and you have to take them to one goal - play as a unit and keep everybody involved. It is tough also because the squad is bigger than a state side," he said.