Sachin Tendulkar's coach, Ramakant Achrekar, who can be credited with giving Cricket one of game's greatest batsman ever, died at the age of 87 in Mumbai. Ramakant Achrekar was born in the year 1932 and started playing cricket from the year 1945, before turning coach. The coach is known to have shaped Sachin's career when the young lad was preparing to take on the world. There are a number of anecdotes that Tendulkar has shared which give us an insight into the relationship shared by Sachin and Achrekar sir, as the legendary batsman called him. Ramakant Achrekar Dies at 87: Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli’s Coach Breathes His Last in Mumbai.

Coins on Stumps Instead of Bails!

Coach Achrekar would keep a coin at the top of stumps when Sachin used to bat in the nets, while he was coaching the young Master Blaster. The condition was: Whoever gets Sachin out, keeps the coin. Needless to say, Sachin kept most of the coins as he remained unbeaten. Sachin still has these coins and calls the coins among his most valued possessions.

Scooter Rides

Sachin has often recalled how coach Achrekar would take him around the cricket grounds in Mumbai on his scooter. Sachin still gets nostalgic whenever he talks about these rides.

Moving Sachin From Bandra to Dadar

It was at coach Achrekar's insistence, that Sachin moved from his school in Bandra- New English to Shardashram school in Dadar. It was here that he met his childhood friend Vinod Kambli and could dedicate more time to cricket as Shivaji Park- the place of Sachin's practise is close to the school.

Scolding Sachin in Public

The 'God of Cricket' was once scolded by his coach in public, when the former had missed a game of cricket to cheer for his senior team. Coach Achrekar had famously told him that instead of clapping for others, he should do something that others should clap from him. Sachin has called this lesson as the most important he has ever learned in his life.

Here is the Video of Sachin Himself Talking About that Incident:

'Strict But Loving and Caring' 

Sachin has recalled how Coach Achrekar was strict but also caring and loving. Sachin's perfectionist approach can be credited to coach Achrekar, as the coach also demanded and expected highly from his favorite pupil. Coach Achrekar always focused on how Sachin was getting his runs and not just how many he was scoring. He insisted that the master blaster kept practising his shots even after practice, which the obedient Sachin followed like a religion.

Ramakant Achrekar also served as selector for Mumbai cricket team for a short while. Coach Achrekar's famous cricket academy in Dadar gave India cricketers like Vinod Kambli, Ajit Agarkar, Ramesh Pawar and Praveen Ambre. He was awarded with Guru Dronacharya award in the year 1990 for his services to cricket coaching. In 2010, he was honoured with Padma Shri, one of the highest civilian honours in India.

In October 2018, Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar had shared a picture featuring him, his childhood friend Vinod Kambli along with their coach Ramakant Achrekar. The 'God of Cricket' shared the picture with his legendary coach on Instagram and the master blaster couldn't contain his smile in the memorable frame. Sachin had met Coach Achrekar with his friends to get blessings of his coach before heading to the Tendulkar Middlesex Cricket Academy (TMCA). The coach looked mighty pleased seeing his pupils together.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 02, 2019 08:22 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).