There were cricket coaches and then there was a Ramakant Achrekar, whose contribution was way more than gifting India a 'kohinoor' called Sachin Tendulkar. Achrekar, who passed away in Mumbai at the age of 87 on Wednesday, belonged to that near extinct tribe of cricket coaches, who gave quintessential talented middle-class boys hope and imparted knowledge that they carried a lifetime.

The picture of Achrekar sporting a half-sleeved cotton shirt, simple trousers and a 'Dev Anand Jewel Thief' cap and perfecting a 14-year-old Tendulkar's forward defense shape at the Shivaji Park Gymkhana, was all about the simple times of '80s.