Sachin Tendulkar will have a distinguished guest watching his 200th and final Test from the stands. Tendulkar’s coach and mentor Ramakant Achrekar has accepted his invitation to be present at the Wankhede Stadium from November 14.
The 82-year-old Achrekar, who groomed Tendulkar at Mumbai’s famed Shivaji Park with Vinod Kambli and Ajit Agarkar, has not been to any ground to watch a match in many years, because of age, a right leg fracture and a paralytic attack.
This time, however, Achrekar has decided to make an exception because of two reasons. First, it’s his favourite pupil’s 200th and last Test and second, Tendulkar himself came over to his house to invite him.
“Sachin and his wife Anjali came to our house on the day of Diwali and invited my father to the Test match. Although my father can barely walk and does not go to watch matches these days, he has accepted Sachin’s invitation,” said Achrekar’s youngest daughter Kalpana Murkar. Achrekar stays with her following the death of his wife about 12 years ago.
Kalpana informed that Achrekar can’t walk more than a few paces and has to move on a wheel-chair or driven when he goes out of the house.
“But Sachin has said Anjali will come to pick him up. That way, father shouldn’t have a problem. The only thing is, we can’t probably let him stay at the ground for the full six hours,” said Kalpana, who holds a Level 1 coaching degree from the National Cricket Academy.
The Dronacharya award-winner, who finds it difficult to speak because of paralysis, is happy and unhappy. Happy because he would be at the ground to watch Test cricket after a long time. Unhappy because he doesn’t think Tendulkar should have retired.
“He thinks Sachin could have carried on for two more years. In his own way, he has conveyed this to Sachin,” said Kalpana.
The first Test of the series against the West Indies begins in Kolkata on Wednesday.
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