Ramakant Achrekar, Sachin Tendulkar’s coach, has died aged 86 in Mumbai. Achrekar was born in 1932 and played a key role in shaping up Tendulkar’s career over the years.
Achrekar was a respected coach who trained young cricketers at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park in Dadar. He passed away on Wednesday due to old age-related ailments, his family confirmed.
His most famous pupil, Sachin Tendulkar, went on to become arguably the greatest batsman in the history of the game.
Tendulkar who debuted in 1989, became the first man to score 100 international hundreds and an ODI double hundred. He is also the only cricketer to play 200 Test matches.
The BCCI expresses its deepest sympathy on the passing of Dronacharya award-winning guru Shri Ramakant Achrekar. Not only did he produce great cricketers, but also trained them to be fine human beings. His contribution to Indian Cricket has been immense. pic.twitter.com/mK0nQODo6b
— BCCI (@BCCI) January 2, 2019
Tendulkar, who scored 34357 runs, the most by any batsman, owed his cricketing success to Achrekar, who he considered to be his guru.
Every year during Teacher’s Day, Tendulkar would go to meet his old coach and pay his respects.
In 1990, Achrekar was honoured with the Dronacharya Award for Outstanding coaches in Sports and Games. He was honoured with one of the country’s highest civilian award, the Padma Shri in 2010.
Happy #TeachersDay! The lessons you taught me have always served me well. Sharing an incident with you all that changed my life! pic.twitter.com/J1izUvPG3C
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) September 5, 2017
Last year on Teacher’s Day, Tendulkar revealed how he was disciplined by Achrekar and that moment put his career on the right track. Young Sachin Tendulkar was a prankster and he needed constant monitoring.
He recalled an incident where his revered coach scolded him in front of a whole lot of people for enjoying a match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai instead of playing a match elsewhere.
Achrekar would take Sachin Tendulkar to different matches across Mumbai on his scooter. The coach’s dedication and foresight helped India unearth a gem who went on to serve the country for a quarter of a century.
My heartfelt condolences on the passing away of #RamakantAchrekar Sir , who was instrumental in giving a jewel to Indian cricket. pic.twitter.com/qUZzG5Guf9
— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) January 2, 2019
The man who polished #SachinTendulkar God-given talent, Ramakant Achrekar has left this world. How many Test cricketers has he given from Mumbai. Tendulkar, Kambli, Chandu Pandit, Amre, Agarkar, Powar, Dighe. There could be more. An institution among coaches. #achrekar RIP sir
— Ninad Chaudhari (@Ninad988) January 2, 2019