SPO-ACHREKAR-MEMORIES

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar and

former India batsmen Vinod Kambli and Pravin Amre Thursday

fondly recalled the memories of their childhood coach Ramakant

Achrekar at a condolence meeting here.

Tendulkar recollected how the revered coach, who died

here last week aged 87, asked him to go back to his original

low grip after advising him to hold the bat higher and seeing

it did not work well.

"I still remember when I started playing cricket, we

had just one bat, which belonged to (mybrother) Ajit

(Tendulkar). It was a little bigger and my grip was low on the

handle.

"Sir observed this for a few days and then took me

aside and told me to try and hold the bat a little up,"the

batting legend reminisced at the gathering organised by the

Shivaji Park Gymkhana.

The 45-year-old former Team India captain said

Achrekar's suggestion was meant to convey the message that

coaching doesn't always mean making changes.

"Sir observed me play and said it wasn't working

because I was not having (the same) control and my shots were

not coming off.

"After seeing that I didn't have the same control, Sir

told me to forget whatever he had said and asked me to go back

to the original grip," Tendulkar said.

"And (with this) Sir gave a big message to not just me

and to everybody that coaching doesn't mean making changes.

Sometimes it is important not to coach.

"If my grip would have changed then I think I would

not have played so long. But Sir had vision on how my game

would be better and what suits me," said the legendary

batsman, who played 200 Tests in his career spanning 24 years.

Achrekar's adopted son Naresh Churi narrated an

anecdote on how the departed coach used recycled balls.

"Sir always used to preserve worn out balls, and had a

bag full of such balls, which nobody would have liked to use.

However, Sir did what no coach has done even now back then --

recycling of balls.

"We all used to peel off the outer surface of the ball

and send the inner portion (small ball) to the factory in

Meerut (Uttar Pradesh). He used to purchase the recycled balls

at half price," recalled Churi.

Kambli remarked that he would take Achrekars legacy

forward by coaching students.

NCP chief and former BCCI president Sharad Pawar felt

that Mumbai presently needs someone like Achrekar.

"There are many dignitaries here discussing Achrekar's

contribution to cricket, I'm disturbed because of one thing.

"The current performance of the Mumbai team can evoke

restlessness among those who are passionate about it. If we

have to change this, then Mumbai desperately need a coach

likeAchrekar," said the veteran politician.

Mumbai have been knocked out of the Ranji Trophy this

season in the league stage and haven't made the quarterfinals.

Among others former India player Sameer Dighe, former

Rajasthan coach Pradeep Sundaram, veteran cricket

administrator Prof Ratnakar Shetty and Achrekar's kin,

including daughter Kalpana Murkar, were present.