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Ramakant Achrekar Biography: Age, Career, Family and More

F4U Editorial Desk • Updated October 6, 2026 • 4 min read

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Quick Info

Date of birth5 December 1932

Age86 Years (at time of death)

BirthplaceMalvan Village, Maharashtra, British India

ProfessionFormer Cricketer & Cricket Coach

NationalityIndian

FamilyFather - Vithal Achrekar; Daughter - Kalpana Murkar and four other daughters (names not known)

Ramakant Achrekar Biography

Ramakant Vithal Achrekar, widely known as 'Baba', was an influential Indian cricket coach whose training shaped a generation of players, most famously Sach

Early life and background

Ramakant Vithal Achrekar was born on 5 December 1932 in the village of Malvan in what was then British India. He moved to Bombay with his family as a child and enrolled at Chabildas High School in Dadar, where he first took up the game of cricket. His father, Vithal Achrekar, had been involved with the sport and passed on a love for cricket that Ramakant would turn into his life’s work.

As a young man Achrekar played club cricket for New Hind Sports Club and for a Young Maharashtra XI. He also worked at the State Bank, where he played alongside colleagues who shared his interest in the game. He lived for many years in Mumbai, first in Wadala and later in the Shivaji Park area of Dadar.

Career

Achrekar’s playing career was modest. He appeared in a single first-class match in 1964 for the All-India State Bank side, in which he scored 30 runs. His lasting contribution to the sport came as a coach. Around 1967–68 he began coaching after a schoolboy sought his advice; that student, Ramnath Parkar, went on to win a Test cap for India and was the first of Achrekar’s trainees to reach the international level.

He coached at several venues around Bombay, including regular sessions at Sassanian Cricket Club and overseeing nets at New Hind. He also founded and managed the Kamat Memorial club at Shivaji Park, running it until the end of his life. Achrekar accepted a small fee when he began — reportedly fifty rupees a month — and soon became the coach at Dayanand Balak Vidyalaya, building a reputation for tough, disciplined training.

Over decades he developed a number of players who represented India in Tests and at first-class level. Notable names among his proteges include Balwinder Singh Sandhu, Chandrakant Pandit, Lalchand Rajput, Vinod Kambli, Pravin Amre, Sameer Dighe, Ajit Agarkar, Paras Mhambrey and Ramesh Powar.

Sachin Tendulkar, who would become one of cricket’s most celebrated batsmen, was introduced to Achrekar by his brother Ajit Tendulkar. Achrekar identified Tendulkar’s talent during net practice and recommended him for an early debut at Brabourne Stadium at the age of 13. Achrekar’s coaching regime with young players could be demanding and structured; Tendulkar’s practice schedule under Achrekar is remembered for its intensity and repetition.

Achrekar’s rapport with his students combined strictness with personal care. He rewarded good performances with small treats and maintained close, long-lasting relationships with many of the players he coached. Stories from that era describe him setting small tests in the nets — such as asking bowlers to dismiss a batsman to win a coin placed on the stumps — and insisting on commitment from his pupils.

Later life and honors

For his contributions to coaching, Achrekar received national recognition. He was awarded the Dronacharya Award in 1990 and was later honored with the Padma Shri in 2010. In the late 1990s he suffered a paralysis attack that reduced his active involvement in coaching, and he used a wheelchair in later years.

Public profile

Achrekar was commonly referred to by the affectionate nickname 'Baba' and was widely respected in Indian cricket circles. His name became shorthand for exceptional coaching; comparisons to him were used to praise or challenge other coaches. Former students, including Sachin Tendulkar, continued to acknowledge his role in their careers, visiting and speaking about his influence long after they moved on to professional success.

Death and legacy

Ramakant Achrekar died on 2 January 2019 at his home near Shivaji Park in Dadar, Mumbai, at the age of 86. The cause of death was described as age-related ailments. Tributes after his passing highlighted his role in shaping several generations of cricketers and his particular place in the story of Sachin Tendulkar’s development. Even as his health declined, his contribution to cricket in Mumbai and to Indian cricket more broadly remained widely celebrated.

Latest updates

There are no updates beyond his death in January 2019 in the provided material.

Editorial Review and Sources

This F4U profile is written from publicly available career and profile information, then reviewed for clarity before publication. If you spot an outdated detail about Ramakant Achrekar, send the page URL and a reliable correction source to f4udotin@gmail.com.

Reference context: StarsUnfolded

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Career Highlights

  1. Coach of Sachin Tendulkar
  2. Dronacharya Award (1990)
  3. Padma Shri (2010)
  4. Founder and manager of Kamat Memorial club at Shivaji Park
  5. Mentor to multiple India Test and first-class cricketers
Reviewed by F4U Editorial Desk

F4U profile pages are prepared from public career information, checked for readability, and updated when reliable correction sources are shared with the editorial team.

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Ramakant Achrekar was born on 5 December 1932.

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Ramakant Achrekar is known for former Cricketer & Cricket Coach.