Questions about Indian descent seem strange to South African batsman Hashim Amla
South African batsman Hashim Amla says he finds it very odd when people ask him what it feels like to play against India – the country where his grandparents were from.
"My grandparents came from India, but I am South African,” said Amla. “I chuckle when I'm asked how I feel playing against India. It's a bit strange."
He finds it even stranger because he has not noticed other cricketers from ‘the rainbow nation’ ever being asked questions about their descent. “Other players whose parents or grandparents came from overseas are never asked how
they feel when they play against England,” Amla pointed out.
On the subject of who his cricketing influences have been, Amla expresses admiration for the longevity and consistency of Sachin Tendulkar’s international career, but says that his heroes are Brian Lara, Jacques Kallis and Steve
Waugh. He speaks highly of Lara’s flamboyance (“You’d pay to watch him play.") and Waugh’s attitude (“If he was beaten by a good ball, he’d just smile.”), and says that it is an honour to be in the same team as Kallis, whose batting he greatly admired as a
youngster.
Amla, the first ever cricketer of Indian descent on the South African national team, will be part of the South African team in its upcoming Test series against India, starting on December 16. Amla is currently recovering from a
deep-tissue bruise on his left forearm, an injury he sustained in a match against Pakistan in Abu Dhabi last month, but his doctors are confident that he will be fit to play in the Test series against India.
Amla’s first Test match was also against India, in Kolkata in 2004. He did not perform well in that match and was criticized for his batting technique. But he got his chance against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/India-c750 again last year, and proved himself by
displaying some spectacular batting form. In the aforementioned series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 in the UAE this year, Amla became the first cricketer to score more than 1000 runs in Test matches and over a 1000 in one-day internationals in the same year.
“I am really happy to be having the sort of season I am having now,” says Amla of his current remarkably good form. “But when you put it in perspective, it’s only important if you can continue to perform well. I always remind myself
to look at the bigger picture, because it’s easy to lose focus. If you look at the best players, they have played well over a whole career, not just one year.”
Tags: