He mentored Sachin and made him a star for life.

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Mumbai | Cutting, polishing and shaping a diamond is more important than digging and extracting it. The same happens with players as well.

Identifying their talents and allowing them to flourish is not enough, young prodigies need to be trained, mentored and groomed into a person who can hone their talents and compete in competitions to become legends one day. I can showcase my art.

As Sachin Tendulkar celebrates his 50th birthday on Monday, he will remember all those who have carved the most precious diamond in the game of cricket. These are the people who identified young Sachin’s talent, nurtured and mentored his passion for cricket, and instilled in him a sense of responsibility and the ability to excel at the highest level of the game.

There are people who played a key role in helping Sachin eventually become the ‘God of Cricket’. First on the list of those who influenced Sachin at a young age are his parents, who fielded Sachin after sharing a world record partnership in school cricket. The person who introduced Sachin to cricket was his elder brother Ajit Tendulkar, who first saw his passion and took him to his first coach, Late Ramakant Achrekar.

Ajit’s intention was to mentor young Sachin, who was a bully at school and getting into fights on a daily basis, taking him to the nets set up by Achrekar at Shivaji Park in Dadar. His role was not just limited to getting Sachin into coach Achrekar’s camp. Over the years, Ajit was Sachin’s mentor and helped him make technical adjustments to his game. At one point after the 2007 ODI World Cup in the West Indies, Ajit along with coach Achrekar and other family members helped him come out of depression when he almost decided to quit the game.

Coach Achrekar was also instrumental in making Sachin the God of Cricket, who shaped an uncut gem into a unique diamond, instilling in him the importance of hard work, technical excellence, the value of your wicket and making the most of your opportunities. Sachin joined Achrekar’s academy in 1984 at the age of 10 and stayed with him till he made his international debut in 1989.

Achrekar got Sachin shifted from IES New English School to Shardashram Vidyamandir. Young Sachin used to take part in nets practice with Achrekar at Shivaji Park in the morning and evening. He would practice for hours; If he got tired, Achrekar would put a one-rupee coin on top of the stumps and the bowler who dismissed Tendulkar would get the coin. If Sachin had completed the session without getting out, the coach would have given him a coin. Tendulkar considers the 13 coins thus won as his most prized possession.

Achrekar also encouraged Tendulkar to play club cricket, starting the Kanga League for the John Bright Cricket Club at the age of 11. This was a big deal at the time as the Kanga League was played on wet, open pitches without helmets. This was considered dangerous and several players suffered injuries in those conditions. Achrekar had so much faith in Sachin’s abilities that he allowed him to play in this league. For the next three years, Sachin played for Sassanian CC and then Shivaji Park Youngsters, changing clubs and schools to focus on cricket, batting for the clubs in the field, riding Achrekar’s scooter, just to bat Kept going from one club to another.

In 1987, he joined the Cricket Club of India (CCI) due to the interest shown by Madhav Apte, a former India player, who asked the CCI to make an exception to its rule that allows children below the age of 18 to enter the clubhouse. And was not allowed to enter the pavilion. Sachin was 15 years old at that time. It was at the CCI that Sachin got a chance to practice and play on the pristine facilities of the Brabourne Stadium and also interacted and mentored stars like Dilip Sardesai, Hanumant Singh and Milind Rege.

Sachin made his first-class debut in 1987 at the age of 14 and scored an unbeaten 100 in the very first match. In 1989, he made his international debut in Pakistan under Krishnamachari Srikkanth and rose to fame after hitting Abdul Qadir for four sixes (6, 0, 4, 6, 6, 6) in an over in a practice match.

There have been many people like Ajit Tendulkar, Ramakant Achrekar, his coach in his early days in domestic cricket and at international level, his wife Anjali and friends who played a vital role in Sachin’s illustrious journey. Sachin remembered them all in his speech after his last Test at the Wankhede Stadium in October 2013. They will always remember him for the role he played in making him the god of cricket.

–IANS

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