Tendulkar remembers childhood coach Achrekar on death anniversary

MUMBAI: Legendary Indian cricketer Sachin Tendulkar remembered his childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar on the occasion of his death anniversary. Achrekar, who served as Tendulkar's childhood coach, was born in 1932.

Tendulkar took to Twitter to remember this coach and wrote a heartwarming post as a tribute to his coach, to the "Dronacharya of his life".

"He taught me technique, discipline and most importantly, to respect the game. I think of him every day. Today, on his death anniversary, I salute the Dronacharya of my life. Without him, I wouldn't have been the same cricketer," tweeted Tendulkar.

Achrekar passed away at the age of 87 in January 2019. The Dronacharya awardee, who has blessed Indian cricket with the likes of Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, used to train cricketers at Shivaji Park in Dadar. BCCI, the national governing body for cricket in India, had paid its tributes to Achrekar.

"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," tweeted BCCI.

Sachin Tendulkar paid tribute to his childhood Coach Ramakant Achrekar had built the foundation on which the master blaster stands on.

"Cricket in heaven will be enriched with the presence of Achrekar Sir. 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," Tendulkar said in a statement.

"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," the statement added.

Achrekar was extremely instrumental in making the legend that was Tendulkar. He also coached former Indian batter Vinod Kambli. Tendulkar has numerous records to his name. Tendulkar is the highest amount of runs in Test cricket.

He has 15,921 runs in 200 matches at an average of over 53 with 51 centuries and 68 half-centuries. In 463 ODIs, Tendulkar scored 18,426 runs at an average of 44.83. He scored 49 centuries and 96 centuries in the format.

He also played one T20I in which he scored 10 runs. Combining these, Tendulkar is the highest run-scorer in international cricket. In 664 matches, Tendulkar scored 34,357 runs at an average of 48.52. He has 100 centuries and 164 half-centuries in the format. Tendulkar is also a member of the 2011 ICC Cricket World Cup-winning Indian team.

This star batter has also represented Mumbai Indians (MI) in the Indian Premier League (IPL). In 78 matches, he scored 2,334 runs at an average of 34.84 and a strike rate of 119.82.

He has scored a century and 13 half-centuries in the cash-rich league, with the best individual score of 100*.