Sachin Tendulkar Vinod Kambli Raj Thackeray attend Ramakant Achrekar funeral

Ramakant Achrekar’s funeral

Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar’s coach Ramakant Achrekar took his last breath on January 2 at the age of 87. He was suffering from age-related ailments for the past couple of weeks. Tendulkar, who scored 18426 runs in ODIs and 15926 runs in Tests, is considered to be one of the greatest players in the modern era. Earlier in the year, Tendulkar had said coaches are like gurus. In 1990, Achrekar was honoured with the Dronacharya Award for Outstanding coaches in Sports and Games. He was honoured with one of the country's highest civilian award, the Padma Shri in 2010. In the same year, he was honoured the "Lifetime Achievement" award by the Sports Illustrated by Gary Kirsten.

Ramakant Achrekar’s funeral

Sachin Tendulkar and Chandrakant Pandit are seen carrying the mortal remains of Ramakant Achrekar on their shoulders on January 3

Ramakant Achrekar’s funeral

Family and friends of Ramakand Achrekar carry the mortal remains of Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli’s coach for the last rites.

Ramakant Achrekar’s funeral

MNS chief Raj Thackeray also attended the funeral of Sachin, Kambli’s cricket coach Ramakant Achrekar in Mumbai.

Ramakant Achrekar’s funeral

When Achrekar died on January 2, Tendulkar released an emotional and touching message which said, “Cricket in heaven will be enriched with the presence of (Ramakant) Achrekar sir. Like many of his students, I learnt my ABCD of cricket under Sir’s guidance. His contribution to my life cannot be captured in words. He built the foundation that I stand on,” Tendulkar wrote.

Ramakant Achrekar’s funeral

Sachin Tendulkar and Chandrakant Pandit along with Achrekar’s family performed his last rites in Mumbai. Following his 40th birthday in 2013, Achrekar had given Tendulkar his blessings by saying the Indian batsman would live happily as long as he plays

Ramakant Achrekar’s funeral

As Achrekar’s funeral passed, at a particular ground, there was a fitting and symbolic tribute to the man who had given Indian cricket plenty of stars. On both sides, there were a group of young boys who raised a bat in salute to the achievements of Achrekar.