Ramakant Achrekar

Ramakant Vitthal Achrekar (1932 – 2 January 2019)[2] was an Indian cricket coach from Mumbai. He was most famous for coaching young cricketers at Shivaji Park in Dadar, Mumbai, most notably Sachin Tendulkar. He had also been a selector for the Mumbai cricket team. He also won the Dronacharya Award in 1990 and Padma Shri in 2010

Ramakant Achrekar
Born1932 (1932)
Malvan, Bombay presidency, British India[1]
Died2 January 2019(2019-01-02) (aged 86–87)
NationalityIndian
OccupationCricket coach
ChildrenKalpana Murkar

Early life and career

Ramakant Vitthal Achrekar was born in 1932. His playing career was not as distinguished as his coaching career. He started playing cricket in 1943. In 1945, he played club cricket for New Hind Sports Club. He also played for Young Maharashtra XI, Gul Mohar Mills and Mumbai Port. He played in only one first-class cricket match, for State Bank of India against Hyderabad in the Moin-ud-Dowlah Gold Cup Tournament in 1963.[3][4]

His life and his inspiring career have been documented by journalist Kunal Purandare in the biography, Ramakant Achrekar: Master Blaster's Master. The book has garnered critical praise from various publications, including the Wisden India Almanack.

Coaching career

He founded Kamath Memorial Cricket Club at Shivaji Park. He coached and nurtured numerous cricketers, including the Test players Sachin Tendulkar, Ajit Agarkar, Chandrakant Pandit, Vinod Kambli, Ramesh Powar and Pravin Amre. He devoted himself in coaching to raising the standard of Indian cricket. The club is currently run by his daughter Kalpana Murkar, grandson Soham Dalvi and Pradosh Mayekar .[5][6]

Illness and death

Ramakant Achrekar died on January, 2, 2019, due to the old-age ailments.[7] Numerous famous cricket personalities including Sachin Tendulkar were present for the funeral.

Awards and recognition
  • In 1990, he was honoured with Dronacharya Award for his services to cricket coaching.[8]
  • In 2010, he was conferred with Padma Shri, one of the country's highest civilian awards in sports category at the Rashtrapati Bhavan in New Delhi on 7 April 2010 by the then Indian President Pratibha Patil.[9]
  • In 2010, on 12 February, he was awarded the 'Lifetime Achievement' award by Gary Kirsten, the then coach of the Indian Cricket Team. This award was part of the awards given away for various categories in sports by Sports Illustrated.[10]

Further reading
  • Purandare, Kunal (2016). Ramakant Achrekar: Master Blaster's Master. Lotus Collection/Roli Books. ISBN 9789351941163.

References
  1. Williams, Richard (21 February 1993). "Cricket: A bat, a ball, and a million dreams". The Independent. London. Retrieved 17 March 2013.
  2. "Sachin Tendulkar's coach Ramakant Achrekar dies aged 87". The Indian Express. 2 January 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  3. First-Class Matches Played by Ramakant Achrekar (1) at CricketArchive (subscription required)
  4. Mukherjee, Abhishek (2 October 2016). "Ramakant Achrekar's only First-Class match - Cricket Country". Cricket Country. Retrieved 2 January 2019.
  5. "'We have the talent, our problem is attitude!'". Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  6. "Play ruins play at Shivaji Park". Archived from the original on 11 April 2013. Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  7. "Sachin Tendulkar's coach Ramakant Achrekar dies aged 86 in Mumbai". India Today. Ist. Retrieved 7 January 2019.
  8. "Sports Awardees for "Dronacharya Award"". Archived from the original on 20 November 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2013.
  9. "Ramakant Vithal Achrekar gets Padma Shri Awards 2010". The Times of India. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  10. "Ramakant Achrekar: Coach of Sachin Tendulkar : The True Dronacharya". Retrieved 13 March 2013.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.