File image of Tariq Sinha
Indian coach Tarak Sinha, who has the most number of international and first-class cricketers, died on Saturday morning after a prolonged illness.
Sinha was 71 years old.
He was a bachelor and his family consists of his sister and hundreds of students and well wishers, whose life became better because of his positive presence.
Sinha was a father figure in Delhi’s famous Sonnet Club, which produced some of the country’s finest cricketers who ruled domestic and international cricket.
It is with a heavy heart to share the sad news that Mr. Tarak Sinha, Founder of Sonnet Club, Mr. Tarak Sinha, has left us to live in heaven at 3 am on Saturday after valiantly fighting for two months with lung cancer. Is. said in a statement.
“Ustadji”, as his disciples respectfully referred to him, was not a grassroots cricket coach. Over almost five decades, he nurtured, groomed and managed raw talent and through his club gave them a platform to perform and wings to fly.
That is why some of his most eminent students (they do not wish to be named) were monitoring his health and making necessary arrangements till his last day.
His longtime assistant Devendra Sharma, who has actively coached the likes of Rishabh Pant, accompanied him.
Just take a look at the names and one would know why it was a profanity to honor him with the lifetime Dronacharya award by the end of 2018.
His earlier students included stalwarts of Delhi cricket. Surinder Khanna, Manoj Prabhakar, late Raman Lamba, Ajay Sharma, Atul Vasan, Sanjeev Sharma all ruled Delhi cricket and also played for India.
Then there were domestic stalwarts like KP Bhaskar, who was a batting mainstay from the mid-1980s to the mid-90s.
The post-90s were the time when they produced some of their best international players, including women cricketers including Aakash Chopra, former national captain Anjum Chopra, all-rounder Rumeli Dhar and pacer Ashish Nehra. Shikhar Dhawan, and possibly one of the brightest stars of Indian cricket, Rishabh Pant.
There were many coaches all over India but very few like Ustad ji who was a true blue talent scout.
The BCCI never used her expertise except once when it appointed her as the coach of the women’s national team. Then, he worked with very young players including Jhulan Goswami, Mithali Raj in its ranks.
For Sinha, the sonnet was family. His dedication towards cricket was such that he never thought of getting married.
It was always about finding the next best talent on his mind and seeing him in the colors of India.
Another aspect of his coaching was that he never allowed any student to neglect his academics.
Any student who comes for training during his/her annual school or college examination will be immediately sent back and will not be allowed to practice until the examination is over.
Sinha knew that not all of them would become Dhawan, Pant or Nehra and the academics would give him a Plan B.
One case is that of Pant, who was with his mother and was noticed by Sinha’s assistant Devendra, who was coaching in Rajasthan at the time. Sinha asks him to see the “boy” for a couple of weeks before coming back.
The story of Pant’s stay in the Gurdwara (which he did on a few occasions) became a myth, but it was Sinha who arranged for Pant’s education in a Delhi school, from where he completed his 10th and 12th board exams. Took the exam
He also arranged for a rented accommodation where he could stay as he pursued his cricketing ambition.
Once during an interview with PTI, Pant’s emotional responses struck a chord.
Pant had said, ‘Tarak sir is not like a father. He is the father to me.
He was very proud of what Pant has achieved so far in his international career, but he never expressed it.
Another story is about a middle-aged man who reaches Venky’s trap with his teenage son.
“I’m from Roorkee, the city of Rishabh Pant. This is my son, please make him a cricketer like Rishabh. He’s very emotional,” the father’s eyes hoped that someone would think Sinha had some magic wand.
This correspondent recalls that Sinha had asked the father to come back after two hours and asked the boy to start physical exercises.
“These parents are clueless. They don’t even know what kind of talent Rishabh was and what kind of hard work he put in during those early teens,” he had told some reporters standing by his side.
His students loved him and he loved them back.
Aakash Chopra had beautiful handwriting and the marks he held during the Academy Games were his treasured possession.
Similarly, another eminent India international (he has warned that his name may not be published) once found out that he was giving up his rented accommodation because he had bought an apartment.
He did not want his coach to be without his own home.
Sinha never became a businessman or a corporate cricket coach as is in vogue now, like a gun on rent with various fancy principles of working on mental state by confining people to 12×8 rooms with a bucket of water.
He was the old school coach who used to give a slap to his child if the head tilted to the side and the batsman lost his balance while driving.
His students loved him and would remember him with moist eyes and a smile on his lips.
Get well Master.
.