Teacher’s Day special: Stories of Indian cricketers and their coaches
In Indian culture, a teacher occupies a venerated place. Cricket is no exception. Almost every Indian cricketer was identified by experienced eyes, who saw the talent and cultivated it further to make them the best version of themselves. These coaches work tirelessly to give us the superstars but they themselves stay away from fame. Cricketers have shown their gratitude towards the masters with their generous acts. On the occasion of the teacher’s day, here are the best of the stories from Indian cricket.
Virat Kohli – Rajkumar Sharma
After Virat’s father passed away, coach Rajkumar Sharma played a great role in the youngster’s life. Sharma took the onus on himself to best mould this volcano of talent. Virat soon established himself in the Indian team and is now the nation’s leader in all three formats. In 2014, the champion batsman gifted his coach a brand new Skoda Rapid on the occasion of the teacher’s day.
Ashish Nehra – Tarak Sinha
Tarak Sinha is a famous name in Delhi’s coaching circuit. The master has overseen the pupils like Shikhar Dhawan, Anjum Chopra, Aakash Chopra, Rishabh Pant and Ashish Nehra. One day, Nehra failed to find Sinha at the Sonnet Club. When he learned that Sinha was searching for a residing place, the fast bowler bought a new flat for his coach who was staying in a rented house.
MS Dhoni – Keshav Banerjee
The little Mahendra took a great interest in football. His performance as a goalkeeper impressed the school sports teacher Keshav Banerjee so much that the coach asked Dhoni to play as a wicketkeeper. Cricket found a new hero in Dhoni and he is now one of the greatest wicketkeepers of all time. When asked for a gift in 2011, Banerjee said he would be happy to see India win the World Cup. Dhoni fulfilled his teacher’s wish on 2nd April 2011.
Hardik Pandya – Jitendra Singh
Rising from a humble background, Hardik Pandya is currently one of India’s major cricketers. The all-rounder is famous for his power-hitting and pace bowling, a rare combination of skills. When Hardik returned from the Australia tour in 2016, he went to the cricket academy and took his coach Jitendra Singh to a car showroom to gift him a brand new car.
Sachin Tendulkar – Ramakant Achrekar
No Sachin Tendulkar story is ever complete without the mention his coach, Ramakant Achrekar. The coach played an enormous role in honing the talent of the wonderful prodigy. Sachin himself has never been short of words in praise of his taskmaster. Despite the tremendous fame, the Master Blaster never distanced himself from his childhood coach and always looked after him. Achrekar sir passed away in January 2019.
COVID19 has shut schools, yet teachers have gone online to continue teaching. Always inspiring!
Forever grateful to them for shaping us into better human beings and helping us progress.#HappyTeachersDay to all & my 3 special teachers, my father, Achrekar sir & my brother Ajit. pic.twitter.com/qh0RshaAy2
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) September 5, 2020
