Achrekar sir's legacy will inspire the next generation of cricketers: Pravin Amre

Former India cricketer Pravin Amre said that the memorial dedicated to legendary cricket coach Ramakant Achrekar at Mumbai's iconic Shivaji Park will be a source of inspiration for the upcoming generation of cricketers.

A memorial of Achrekar will be unveiled here on December 3 by legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar and politician Raj Thackeray near Gate No 5. The memorial had got the green signal from the Maharashtra government in August this year.

.teamshift img { width: auto; } .shareBox { img { width: auto; } } .playerShiftBlock { display: flex; flex-direction: column; padding: 20px 0 10px; border-radius: 16px; background: #2d3291; } .titleSecholder { display: flex; margin: 0 16px 7px; justify-content: space-between; align-items: stretch; } .titleblock { display: flex; padding-left: 12px; border-left: 3px solid #00b1cd; color: #fff; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 700; line-height: 20px; } .playerBlockSec { height: 340px; display: flex; align-items: center; flex-wrap: nowrap; width: 100%; overflow-x: auto; white-space: nowrap; position: relative; gap: 8px; } .playerBlockSec::-webkit-scrollbar { display: none; } .playerBlock { width: 156px; display: flex; padding-top: 42px; } .playerBlock .bgBlock { border-radius: 8px; display: flex; height: 280px; flex-direction: column; } .playerBlock .bgBlock.rcb { background: linear-gradient(154deg, #e73b4a -47.71%, #5e6aee 113.65%); } .playerBlock .bgBlock.lsg { background: linear-gradient(95deg, #5b6f9e -3.28%, #2b4366 58.29%); } .playerBlock .bgBlock.dc { background: linear-gradient(137deg, #4873ff -42.82%, #ff6f68 92.94%); } .playerBlock .bgBlock.gt { background: linear-gradient(133deg, #033f7a -14.77%, #ffe30f 109.41%); } .playerBlock .bgBlock.csk { background: linear-gradient(118deg, #fee719 -32.08%, #f29834 51.52%); } .playerBlock .bgBlock.mi { background: linear-gradient(324deg, #0279e5 32.22%, #fbfacb 104.85%); } .playerBlock .bgBlock.kkr { background: linear-gradient(308deg, #3a1865 20.3%, #e284f0 116.46%); } .playerBlock .bgBlock.pbks { background: linear-gradient(292deg, #fb5e5a 22.87%, #fef2cb 148.39%); } .playerBlock .bgBlock.srh { background: linear-gradient(302deg, #ff3431 12.37%, #f26522 88.8%); } .playerBlock .bgBlock.rr { background: linear-gradient(289deg, #31336e 18.46%, #fb4f8c 128.5%); } .playerBlock:first-child { margin-left: 16px; } .playerBlock:last-child { margin-right: 16px; } .playerBlock .imgSec { margin: -42px 13px 0; width: 130px; height: 162px; } .playerBlock .imgSec img { width: 130px; height: 162px; border-radius: 18px; } .namePrice { display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; margin-top: -32px; flex-direction: column; } .namePrice .name { color: #fff; font-family: Lato; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 700; } .namePrice .price { color: #fff; font-family: Lato; font-size: 20px; font-weight: 900; } .teamshift { display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; margin: 8px 0; gap: 8px; } .teamshift span { text-transform: uppercase; border-radius: 4px; background: rgba(39, 38, 33, 0.5); padding: 2px 6px; color: #fff; font-family: Lato; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 700; } ul.playerStats { list-style-type: none; display: flex; width: 100%; gap: 0 10px; flex-wrap: wrap; padding: 0 0 0 8px; } ul.playerStats li { width: 53%; color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.6); font-family: Lato; font-size: 12px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 150%; } ul.playerStats li:nth-child(even) { font-weight: 900; font-size: 14px; width: 40%; color: #fff; } /* share block css */ .shareBlock { display: flex; width: 20px; height: 20px; cursor: pointer; position: relative; } .shareBox { position: absolute; right: 0; top: 27px; border-radius: 4px; background: #fff; box-shadow: 0px 0px 6px 0px rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.16); display: flex; padding: 6px 9px; align-items: center; gap: 24px; z-index: 3; width: fit-content; height: 50px; display: none; } .shareBlock:hover .shareBox { display: flex; } .iplCopyLink, .shareVia { color: #999; text-align: center; font-family: Lato; font-size: 14px; font-weight: 400; line-height: 150%; white-space: nowrap; position: relative; } .iplCopyLink::before { content: ' '; width: 1px; height: 40px; background-color: #d9d9d9; position: absolute; left: -12px; top: 5px; } .iplCopyLink img, .shareVia img { margin-top: 4px; } .socialIcons { display: flex; justify-content: center; align-items: center; } .shareVia .socialIcons a { margin-left: 12px; } .shareVia .socialIcons a:first-child { display: none; margin-left: 0; } @media (max-width: 767px) { .shareVia .socialIcons a:first-child { display: block; } } a.ctaFullCoverage { font-size: 16px; margin: auto; position: absolute; bottom: -22px; left: 0; right: 0; background: #00b1cd; width: 100%; max-width: 200px; color: white; padding: 12px 16px; font-weight: 700; text-align: center; border-radius: 22px; overflow: hidden; box-shadow: 0px 0px 16px 0px #00B1CD; text-decoration: none; } a.ctaFullCoverage span { position: relative; z-index: 2; margin-left: 24px; } a.ctaFullCoverage span::before { content: ''; position: absolute; left: auto; right: 0; top: 0; bottom: 0; margin: auto; border: 1px solid #FFF; width: 10px; height: 10px; border-width: 2px 2px 0 0; z-index: 2; transform: rotate(45deg); } a.ctaFullCoverage span::after { content: ''; position: absolute; left: auto; right: 0; top: 0; bottom: 0; margin: auto; height: 2px; width: 16px; background-color: #FFF; border-radius: 2px; } a.ctaFullCoverage::before { content: ''; position: absolute; top: -17px; left: 50px; width: 24px; height: 74px; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.4); transform: rotate(32deg); animation: shinerMooving 3s infinite; z-index: 1; filter: blur(1px); } @keyframes shinerMooving { 0% { left: -40px; } 100% { left: 150%; } } Top 15 buys at IPL 2025 Auction Rishabh Pant ₹ 27 Cr DC LSG Total Match 111 Total Runs 3284 Highest Score 128 runs Shreyas Iyer ₹ 26.75 Cr KKR PBKS Total Match 115 Total Runs 3127 Highest Score 96 runs Venkatesh Iyer ₹ 23.75 Cr KKR KKR Total Match 50 Total Runs 1326 Highest Score 104 runs Wickets 3 Best Bowling 2/29 Arshdeep Singh ₹ 18 Cr PBKS PBKS Total Match 65 Total Runs 29 Highest Score 10 runs Wickets 76 Best Bowling 5/32 Yuzvendra Chahal ₹ 18 Cr RR PBKS Total Match 260 Total Runs 37 Highest Score 8 runs Wickets 205 Best Bowling 5/40 Jos Buttler ₹ 15.75 Cr RR GT Total Match 107 Total Runs 3582 Highest Score 124 runs KL Rahul ₹ 14 Cr LSG DC Total Match 132 Total Runs 4683 Highest Score 132 runs Trent Boult ₹ 12.50 Cr RR MI Total Match 104 Total Runs 83 Highest Score 17 runs Wickets 121 Best Bowling 4/18 Jofra Archer ₹ 12.50 Cr MI RR Total Match 35 Total Runs 195 Highest Score 27 runs Wickets 46 Best Bowling 3/15 Josh Hazlewood ₹ 12.50 Cr RCB RCB Total Match 12 Total Runs - Highest Score - Wickets 12 Best Bowling 3/24 Mohammed Siraj ₹ 12.25 Cr RCB GT Total Match 93 Total Runs 109 Highest Score 14 runs Wickets 93 Best Bowling 4/21 Mitchell Starc ₹ 11.75 Cr KKR DC Total Match 41 Total Runs 105 Highest Score 29 runs Wickets 51 Best Bowling 4/15 Phil Salt ₹ 11.50 Cr DC RCB Total Match 21 Total Runs 653 Highest Score 89 runs Ishan Kishan ₹ 11.25 Cr MI SRH Total Match 105 Total Runs 2644 Highest Score 99 runs Wickets - Best Bowling - Jitesh Sharma ₹ 11 Cr PBKS RCB Total Match 40 Total Runs 730 Highest Score 49 runs Check Full Coverage

"For us, it's a really, really big moment, simply because we all know the contribution he made for us... and not only as cricketers, our careers as coaches have also been successful because of our guru Achrekar sir," Amre told PTI during an event to announce the unveiling of the memorial here.

"This is what we wanted because our guru used to be at the Shivaji Park all the time, he used to call it 'karma bhoomi' and the unveiling of the memorial is happening here, that's the biggest thing for us and this can be motivating for the new generation.

"We started under him as school cricketers, then we became college cricketers, we played for our respective offices, then Ranji Trophy and then for the country. He was on that journey with us, from a school cricketer to Bharat Ratna Sachin Tendulkar," he added.

Achrekar was honoured with the prestigious Dronacharya Award in 1990 and the Padma Shri in 2010.

He passed away in January 2019.

The players coached by him who went on to play for India included Ramnath Parkar, Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Lalchand Rajput, Chandrakant Pandit, Amre, Sameer Dighe, Vinod Kambli, Sanjay Bangar, Paras Mhambrey, Ramesh Powar, Ajit Agarkar and Tendulkar.

"He never compromised with hard work, he made sure that our performance speaks. He taught us about respecting the game, that's the biggest thing," Amre said.

"He lived a very simple life. Come rain or sunshine, he was there at Shivaji Park 365 days for so many years. He has got a special place in every player's heart," said Amre.

Amre, who played 11 Tests and 37 ODIs, said the Indian team in Australia must take it one Test at a time after recording a massive win in Perth.

"Nobody would have expected a win at Perth. The way we came back after getting out for 150 and then getting them for 100 and winning comfortably... that has set the tone," he said.

"Cricket is a game of confidence and that will give a huge confidence to India, but we should think about just one Test at a time."

Amre emphasised the importance of taking a 1-0 lead in the five-match series, saying, "India will take that advantage, it is very rare to start 1-0. That's the biggest achievement. We have also been to Australia, we know how tough it is to win the first Test match."

The former India player said young Indian cricketers, especially Yashasvi Jaiswal, who began the tour with a match-winning 161 in the Perth Test, should look to make it big in the series.

"For any cricketer, when you perform in Australia, you feel very happy and satisfied. The sky is the limit for them, they have to just keep a balanced head and also enjoy the success.

"It's an opportunity to come back as a Man of the Series or a performance of that type for Team India because we need that — scoring in Australia is like gold. Because they are batting well, they must ensure they contribute more. It's not a matter of being a senior or a junior, you are in-form, take the responsibility and contribute to India's success," he said.

This article was generated from an automated news agency feed without modifications to text.

Stay informed with the...