Nagpur, July 18: Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar today paid glowing accolades to his coach Ramakant Achrekar, saying it was because of his mentor that he has made a mark in cricket.
”I am what I am today due to Achrekar Sir. I have learned a lot from him. It was his single-minded devotion to cricket and coaching that has helped me and others like me to be successful cricketers,” Sachin said at a short but glittering function to offer a purse of Rs five lakh to the legendary coach here this afternoon.
”Achrekar Sir’s discipline and dedication has taught us a lot,” he said.
Taking a trip down memory lane, Sachin said when he was a member of school’s junior team as a 12-year old, Mr Achrekar once told him to bat at number 4 in a match that a team was to play at Shivaji Park in Dadar. ”Achrekar Sir told me that he had spoken to the captain.
However, by my own logic, I thought I should be cheering up my school’s senior team, which was playing the final of a tournament at the same time. When Achrekar Sir came to know about this in the evening, he gave me a resounding slap, sending my lunch box flying 20 feet away. That incident taught me a lot,” the legendary batsman recalled.
—–Agencies