“Achrekar Sir has had an immense impact on my life and several other lives. I am speaking on behalf of all his students. His life revolved around cricket in Shivaji Park.Being at Shivaji Park forever is what he would have wished for. I am very happy with the government’s decision to build a statue for Achrekar Sir at his karmabhoomi,” Tendulkar posted on X (formerly Twitter).
The announcement was made on Wednesday, a day ahead of the National Sports Day, which is also the birth anniversary of hockey legend Major Dhyan Chand.
The Government of Maharashtra on Wednesday issued a Government Resolution (GR) permitting the installation of the monument in memory of the famous cricket coach who mentored Tendulkar and several other India players during their formative years at the famed Shivaji Park on an open space near gate No. 5.
The idea to build a memorial for Achrekar at the Shivaji Park was initiated, and continuously followed up by one of Achrekar’s students, Sunil Ramachandran, who is the former captain of the Kamat Memorial Cricket Club and is presently the assistant general secretary of the Shivaji Park Gymkhana.
“It was possible because of the guidance and support of (MNS chief) Raj Thackeray,” Ramachandran, told TOI.
A winner of the prestigious Dronacharya award, Achrekar, who passed away on January 2, 2019, at the age of 87, mentored 14 players who went on to play for India. These are Ramnath Parkar, Eknath Solkar, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Lalchand Rajput, Chandrakant Pandit, Pravin Amre, Tendulkar, Vinod Kambli, Sameer Dighe, Sanjay Bangar, Paras Mhambrey, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar and Sairaj Bahutule.
“There will be a ball, helmet, gloves and pad and his name inscribed on the memorial. The bat will have signatures of all the 14 India cricketers that he coached, starting from (India’s 1983 World Cup hero) Balwinder Singh Sandhu to Bharat Ratna and cricket icon Tendulkar,” Ramachandran said.
The monument is likely to be ready in the next couple of months and will be inaugurated by Tendulkar.