Mumbai, Dec 3 (IANS): Cricket maestro and Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar unveiled a memorial of his ‘Guru’ and legendary cricket coach Ramakant Vitthal Achrekar at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park – also known as the ‘cradle of Indian cricket – on Tuesday evening.
Present to honour Achrekar (December 03, 1932-January 02, 2019) on his 92nd birth anniversary was Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray, former cricketer Vinod Kambli, hordes of cricket fans and others, near the CSM Park’s Gate No. 5.
Setting the tone for the inaugural, Tendulkar said in an X post: “Today is a very special day as we pay tribute to someone who gave so much to cricket and my life. I would be extremely happy if you join me as we unveil Achrekar Sir’s memorial on his birth anniversary and honour his incredible legacy.”
Recounting some fond memories with his coach and mentor, Tendulkar recounted how he and other young cricketers used to visit Achraker’s home on special occasions including Guru Purnima Day to seek his blessings.
“Not only did we visit Achrekar on Guru Purnima Day, but many times he invited us to his home… We would chat and then his wife, whom we all used to call ‘Mummy’ would prepare our favourite mutton curry and paav (loaf bread). Achrekar Sir would sit on a chair beside us and we would sit on the floor and eat,” said Tendulkar, his eyes twinkling with those old cherished moments.
He remembered how they would relish their favourite meal, but still ‘Mummy’ would insist on a generous refill and they would gorge till they felt they would almost burst.
Tendulkar recounted how the students of Achrekar Sir would be relaxed and even sing songs during cricket matches, but the others would be very tense, casting furtive glances at each other on the ground or in dressing rooms.
He attributed it to Achrekar Sir’s rigorous coaching, training, and counselling, asking them to respect the game, how they would even sprinkle water and roll the pitch, for virtually 365 days a year, even during monsoon.
The cricket legend said that he and others used the common cricketing kit provided by the club, which helped his students develop love and a special bond for the gentleman’s game, and he advised the new generation to ‘respect that gear, and not to vent in their bats, balls, gloves, caps, etc.’
Tendulkar said in modern days, cricket coaching is graded as Level 1, 2, 3, etc…, “But all this was done by Achrekar Sir in the 1970s and 1980s” though it was not named like that.
To a question, he said that Achrekar Sir was quite miserly in complimenting good performance, probably because he didn’t want his students to develop any arrogance, but after leaving the grounds, “he would give me some money and say, ‘go and grab a vada-paav’, when I realised that I had done something great that day”.
Tendulkar recalled the tough training under Achrekar’s eagle eyes, how he played no favourites, treated all students equally, made him roll pitch, set up the nets for practice, and yet completed the two rounds of running around the CSM Park boundary that was mandatory before and after the training sessions, keeping a discreet watch on the goings-on, noting down their errors in semi-code language, or even help out if any of the players were injured in the matches.
Kambli, who was asked to speak, appeared overwhelmed and could barely speak, but made up by reciting a couple of lines of the all-time superhit song, “Sar Jo Tera Chakraye, Ya Dil Duba Jaye… I love you, Sir,” to express his emotions for the famous coach.
The memorial is unique as there is no statue of Achrekar but a set of cricket stumps, bat, and ball with his iconic tweed cap resting atop, and a large photograph hung nearby.
Achrekar had trained many cricketers who made it big at the national and international levels like Tendulkar, Kambli, Ramnath Parkar, Ajit Agarkar, Sanjay Bangar, Chandrakant P. Amre, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Paras Mhambrey, Lanchand Rajput and many more.
In 1990, Achrekar was honoured with the coveted Dronacharya Award and conferred the Padma Shri in 2010.