Dubai: On a special day that Indians and Nepalese celebrate as a time to respect their teachers and express their gratitude, India’s legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar went to his childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar and sought his blessings.
The day, which took place on Friday, is known as Guru Purnima. The term ‘guru’ has its roots in Sanskrit, with ‘gu’ meaning darkness or ignorance and ‘ru’ meaning remover of that darkness.
Achrekar was responsible for shaping Tendulkar’s talents from the age of 11 after Sachin’s brother Ajit took him to meet Achrekar and convinced the coach to train him despite the latter feeling he was too young.
On Friday, Sachin posted a picture of him visiting Achrekar on Twitter with the message: “Sought blessings of my Guru on this auspicious day — A happy #GuruPurnima to all.”
During a 2004 interview with Gulf News, when Achrekar visited Dubai to conduct a clinic for cricketlovers.com under the auspices of the Dubai Cricket Council, he was asked what was the best advice he gave Sachin. Achrekar replied: “I told him ‘always be hungry for runs, never be satisfied with a good knock’. Sachin has followed it fully.
“Tendulkar was naturally talented. He was studious and never repeated a mistake.”
Achrekar used to make Sachin ride with him on his scooter and take him to matches to give the young boy plenty of exposure to cricket.
And the coach always placed a one rupee coin on the stumps while coaching Tendulkar. If he was able to bat through the entire session without being dismissed, he would give Tendulkar the coin. Even today, Sachin has 13 of those precious coins saved.
Tendulkar also makes it a point to visit Achrekar, who is now 83 years old, on his birthday every year.
