Batting great Sachin Tendulkar on Tuesday described his celebrated childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar as an "all-rounder" and a one-stop shop who was way ahead of his time when it came to teaching cricket as his coaching went beyond the field. Tendulkar was speaking after unveiling the legendary coach Achrekar's memorial at the iconic Shivaji Park here. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray was also present on the occasion.
Sachin Tendulkar on coach Ramakant Achrekar
Recalling his days when he was under the tutelage of Achrekar, Tendulkar said players trained by him were never tensed during matches thanks to their solid temperament developed by the great coach.
"Ajit (Tendulkar's elder brother) used to play, and in matches, his observation was, who were not sir's students, they were tensed. He used to wonder sir's students were never under pressure.
"Then he realised, sir had a lot of practice matches, and that temperament had been built. I was no exception," Tendulkar spoke in Marathi.
He further added, "Sir had a swiss knife, glue, sand paper, first aid, after match, he used to say 'let's do match demonstration'. He wrote in code language, who did what wrong in the match. Once, during batting, a friend was flying a kite, he would stand and see, and take notes."
"Sir was a general store, used to have everything, was very caring. he used to control situations while we were going to the doctor also. He was an all-rounder,"
Sachin Tendulkar on Ramakant Achrekar's method
Recalling the Achrekar method, Tendulkar said, "Sir used to do level 1, 2, 3, 4 coaching in 1970s and 80s. He had a vision to teach players, and respect the kit. I still tell players, that you are on the field because of the bat, respect it.
"Please remember your cricket kit, don't throw it, put it at a particular space, don't take out your frustration on your cricket kit. I am sitting here because of my kit. I will always pass on sir's messages to the future generation. We will try."
