On Tuesday, Sachin Tendulkar unveiled a memorial of his childhood coach, Ramakant Achrekar, at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Park in Mumbai. Maharashtra Navnirman Sena President Raj Thackeray and former cricketer Vinod Kambli also attended the event to honor Achrekar on his 92nd birth anniversary.
During the function, Tendulkar reminisced about some of his fondest memories with Achrekar. The Master Blaster recalled one such anecdote when he went to Achrekar’s home and the food he had over there.
We used to go to his home, and he and his wife invited us. Our favorite diet was mutton curry, pav, lemon, and onion. Vishakha used to come and serve us, said Tendulkar.
Achrekar was awarded the distinguished Dronacharya Award in 1990 and the Padma Shri in 2010. Achrekar died in January 2019.
Tendulkar remembered how Achrekar did not lavish praise on such exceptional performances, probably to prevent his wards from becoming arrogant.
Tendulkar stated that he never left the ground, and after leaving it, “he (Achrekar) would give me some money and say, ‘go and grab a vada-pav’ when I realized that I had done something great that day.”
While at the function, Tendulkar also had an opportunity to meet with his childhood friend Kambli.
Both Tendulkar and Kambli were Achrekar students.
