Cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar paid an emotional tribute to his childhood coach Ramakant Achrekar on his birth anniversary on Thursday (December 3). The Padmashri and Dronacharya awardee coach passed away on January 2, 2019.

Achrekar was the man whose contribution to Indian cricket, fans will never forget, of course, he gave India a ‘Kohinoor’ called Tendulkar who made the entire country proud across the globe in the field of cricket.

He was the celebrated cricket coach who not only discovered and shaped the greatest batsman of all-time after Sir Donald Bradman in Tendulkar, but also gave the knowledge to a lot of budding cricketers and shaped their career including the likes of Vinod Kambli, Pravin Amre, Ajit Agarkar and Balwinder Singh Sandhu.

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The legendary batsman has always acknowledged his childhood coach’s contribution to his career.

On his birth anniversary on Thursday, Tendulkar has shared an old photograph with Achrekar and penned an emotional note for his childhood coach, as he thanked him for helping him and other budding cricketers to realize their strengths.

In the picture, Achrekar can be seen guiding the legendary batsman on how to hold a cricket bat.

Tendulkar captioned the post: “Thinking of a person very close to my heart who helped countless young cricketers, including me, to realise their potential through the power of sport & character. Thank you for everything, Achrekar Sir.”