It was emotional to see my name at Kingsmead: Amre

Praveen Amre, who has been in the wilderness since being axed from the Indian side, is suddenly in the limelight. He has just returned after a successful season representing Boland in the South African domestic circuit. In a chat with an Indian newspaper, the former Mumbai player said "It was a great learning curve and I have now greater respect for their (South African) cricket."

Amre, who made a century on debut against South Africa at Durban in 1992 was an instant hit with his Boland teammates who presented a stump as a gift to him. He said "It was given to me by my teammates after we won the Standard Bank Cup final. I was touched and will treasure this memento."

On his role for Boland, Amre said "I am glad I could contribute to the side's fortunes. We won the Standard Bank series and emerged third in the four-day Super Sport Series. It was an improvement". Amre himself stood fourth for his side in the number of runs - 244 runs in seven games in the Super Sport Series and 267 runs in 12 innings in the Standard Bank Cup.

On his experiences in South Africa, Amre said "It was emotional to see my name mentioned in the list of century-makers in the pavilion at Kingsmead in Durban. Even the groundsman remembered me and several people wanted to know why I am not in the Indian team. All I could tell them was that I gave it my best shot each time. The rest was not in my hands".

Amre was all praise for Intikab Alam, a cricket enthusiast of Indian origin, who made him feel at home. "It was great to have Alam all the time. He even organised Indian food for me. So I did not miss out on my dhal and rice thanks to him." said Amre.

Amre said his satisfying moments were his innnings of 79 against Natal which had Lance Klusener and Shaun Pollock in their ranks. The only regret he had was not being able to play the Standard Bank Cup final. He had to miss the the final because of the state's selection policy which gives an opportunity to local talent. "It was a bit sad to sit out. But one has to go with the team's policy. And I was told about it, so there are no hard feelings. Plus I did not lose out financially," explained Amre.