Renowned cricket coach Ramakant Achrekar, who died due to age-related ailments, was cremated in Mumbai on Thursday with his most famous student Sachin Tendulkar in attendance for a tearful adieu.
Archrekar, the childhood coach of Tendulkar, passed away at 87 at his Shivaji Park residence in Dadar in Central Mumbai on Wednesday.
His body was kept at Shivaji Park, where he coached aspiring cricketers and then taken to a nearby crematorium.
When the body was taken outside the ground, young boys, who practice there, gave a guard of honour amid chants of ‘Amar Rahe’.
Tendulkar, along with Achrekar’s other students like Vinod Kambli, Balwinder Singh Sandhu and Chandrakant Pandit, took part in the procession to the crematorium, where his body was consigned to flames.
Tendulkar has always credited ‘Achrekar Sir’ for every milestone that he ever reached on the cricket field and paid a heartfelt tribute to him on Wednesday.
“Cricket in heaven will be enriched with the presence of Achrekar sir,” Tendulkar said in a statement. “Like many of his students, I learnt my ABCD of cricket under Sir’s guidance. His contribution to my life cannot be captured in words. He built the foundation that I stand on.
“Last month, I met Sir along with some of his students and spent some time together. We shared a laugh as we remembered the old times. Achrekar sir taught us the virtues of playing straight and living straight. Thank you for making us a part of your life and enriching us with your coaching manual. Well played Sir and may you coach more wherever you are,” he wrote on Twitter.
You’ll always be in our hearts. pic.twitter.com/0UIJemo5oM
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) January 2, 2019
