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We owe it to him: Indian cricketers pay tribute to Tarak Sinha

Tarak Sinha provided Khaleej Times with this picture of his in January this year. Sinha is seen with his famous pupil Rishabh Pant

Sinha not only produced first-class cricketers, but several of his pupils went on to play for India

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by

Rituraj Borkakoty

Published: Sat 6 Nov 2021, 11:59 PM

Tarak Sinha, the legendary cricket coach who passed away at the age of 71 on Saturday after a two-year battle with cancer, was once ignored by selectors for a domestic tournament in India.

Deeply hurt by the snub, Sinha binned his playing ambitions and became a coach. He went on to launch a cricket club in Delhi, the Sonnet Cricket Club, and produced players that selectors could not ignore.

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Sinha not only produced first-class cricketers, but several of his pupils went on to play for India. The list includes names like Manoj Prabhakar, Surinder Khanna, Ajay Sharma, Raman Lamba, Atul Wassan, Ashish Nehra, Aakash Chopra, Anjum Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant.

Sinha never earned pan-India fame like Sachin Tendulkar’s coach Ramakant Achrekar, but his impact could be gauged by the tributes that have been pouring in from cricketing legends that never met him in person.

“My heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and trainees of Tarak Sinha Sir. Never met him but heard so many inspirational stories from Nehra and @cricketaakash. His contribution to Indian Cricket will be forever remembered,” VVS Laxman tweeted on Saturday.

Former Indian wicketkeeper-batsman Surinder Khanna called Sinha’s demise a ‘tragic day for Indian cricket’.

“I have known him since I was 13 and now I am 65, so it’s been 52 years of association with him. It’s tragic and a very sad day for us,” Khanna told Khaleej Times over the phone from Delhi.

“He inspired all of us to do well. He had single-minded devotion for cricket. Cricket was his passion.”

Khanna was Sinha’s first pupil to play for India.

“I was the first one from Sonnet Club to play for India. I was a wicketkeeper, and now Rishabh Pant, another wicketkeeper, is also from the Sonnet Club.”

Anjum Chopra, the former Indian women’s team captain, remembers Sinha as ‘a nice and humble mentor’ who taught the pupils the importance of ‘finding the gaps in the field’.

“He had a very distinct style of teaching and making the player understand what’s important because at the end of the day, as a player you need to score runs. You might have a very good technique, but you need to find the gaps and score runs,” Chopra told Khaleej Times.

“He produced so many international cricketers. He helped so many of us get to where we are in our lives through the sport. So yeah, we definitely owe it to him.”

Chopra admitted that Sinha remained her mentor even after she became an international star. “I was always in contact with him. Playing or not playing he was always our coach!”

When Khaleej Times phoned Sinha this year after Pant’s Brisbane heroics earned India an epic Test series win over Australia, he patiently answered all our questions — never giving us a hint of ailing health.

“Now all he needs is the constant backing from the Indian team management,” Sinha had told us that day. “If they keep backing him to play his natural game, he will continue to play match-winning knocks for his country.”

Now a ‘devastated’ Pant says Sinha will always be his guardian angel in cricket. “My mentor, coach, motivator, my biggest critic and my greatest fan. You took care of me like your son, I am devastated,” Pant tweeted on Saturday.

“You will always be with me whenever I walk out onto the field!”

Rituraj Borkakoty

Published: Sat 6 Nov 2021, 11:59 PM

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