Sachin Tendulkar's coach Ramakant Achrekar dies, tributes pour in on social media

Ramakant Achrekar, the individual who coached Sachin Tendulkar and Vinod Kambli, has died at the age of 87 in Mumbai. 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.

Following the news, several prominent cricketers, fans of Indian cricket took to social media to pay tribute to the man who gave the country a talent like Tendulkar. VVS Laxman, on his Twitter handle, thanked Achrekar for unearthing a gem called Tendulkar while many individuals called the death a big loss to Indian sports. Here are a sample of some of the tweets. Tendulkar and Kambli, two of his famous proteges, have not yet tweeted. 

Read More | Sachin Tendulkar's coach Ramakant Achrekar dies in Mumbai

The BCCI expresses its deepest sympathy on the passing of Dronacharya award-winning guru Shri Ramakant Achrekar. Not only did he produce great cricketers, but also trained them to be fine human beings. His contribution to Indian Cricket has been immense. pic.twitter.com/mK0nQODo6b

— BCCI (@BCCI) January 2, 2019

Condolences to his family and loved ones on the passing away of #RamakantAchrekar sir, who shaped and gave us a gift called Sachin Tendulkar ! pic.twitter.com/S7LIhNV4rh

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) January 2, 2019

My heartfelt condolences on the passing away of #RamakantAchrekar Sir , who was instrumental in giving a jewel to Indian cricket. pic.twitter.com/qUZzG5Guf9

— VVS Laxman (@VVSLaxman281) January 2, 2019

DilSe ❤️💙
Indian cricket coach #RamakantAchrekar who coached @sachin_rt has passed away aged 87.
Achrekar was born in 1932 and played a key role in shaping up #SachinTendulkar 's career over the years #RIP pic.twitter.com/wNmBjwFiQv

— DilSe Radio - LycaMedia🎤 (@DilSeRadio) January 2, 2019

#RamakantAchrekar, @sachin_rt 's childhood coach, passed away in Mumbai..

May his soul RIP!

— Ramesh Bala (@rameshlaus) January 2, 2019

Recently, Tendulkar recollected an instance from childhood which, he said, taught him to use freedom with responsibility. “I must have been 13 or so when I had to go to Indore to attend a national camp for a month and those were the days when mobiles were not available. I was going for a month and my mother was worried, and my father was telling her that he is the sharpest and cleverest among all of us, he knows, he is mature guy, I felt brilliant...with that freedom somewhere (in) my subconscious mind it registered that with freedom comes responsibility and I should not misuse my freedom,” he said.

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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. Speaking on behalf of the 80-year-old Dronacharya award winning coach, who is not keeping well after his hip bone fracture, daughter Kalpana told PTI: "My blessings are always there with him."