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"Veteran? Who, me?!"

The forgotten man of Indian cricket has been waiting for a call up, a return to the national squad.

Yet, when it came, it caught Pravin Amre, all of 29 years, completely by surprise.

"I am unaware that I'd been picked for the seniors side," Amre told Rediff On The Net, when he was asked how it felt to be playing against the Sri Lankan seniors. (see story.)

The 'honour' apparently left the star middle-order batsman cold, for he categorically said that he would not be available to play for the senior squad.

Amre, in fact, has returned to Bombay with the hope of forcing himself back into the state Ranji squad, and using that as a springboard to return to the Indian national team.

Asked how, given the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Mohammad Azharuddin and the like, he expected to find a berth for himself in the senior side, Amre said, "Well, in 1991 there was Ravi Shastri, Sanjay Manjrekar, Dilip Vengsarkar, Mohammad Azharuddin, Sachin Tendulkar and Kapil Dev, and I still forced my way into the side. You can't worry about these things, you never know -- all I need to do is score runs."

Bombay coach -- in the light of recent events, make that former Bombay coach -- Balwinder Singh alternated between amusement and amazement when told that Pravin Amre had been selected for the senior-citizen category. "The board should clear the issue, and clarify what the criteria are for selection," Sandhu said. "Amre is 29, and far from finished."

Chairman of the Senior Cricket Association Sandeep Patil was unavailable for comment.

Meanwhile, Balwinder Singh Sandhu has his own disappointments to struggle with.

His contract as coach of the Bombay Ranji squad ended this April, and thus far the Mumbai Cricket Association has shown no sign of renewing it.

"I am disappointed," Sandhu said. "I was born and bred in Bombay, I've coached the Bombay team for two seasons now, and still the MCA has no place for me in its scheme of things."

It rankles with Sandhu that despite his contribution to Bombay cricket, he has not been thought fit for a place on the MCA's Special Committee for Improvement of cricket.

Having done a very short term stint as coach for Punjab, Sandhu is now considering taking on the job for a longer term. Meanwhile, he is busy with his latest hobbyhorse -- the Internet -- and his latest obsession, sports psychology.