The master blaster Sachin Tendulkar left no stone unturned while paying tribute to the former India captain and coach Ajit Wadekar who passed away on Wednesday. His mortal remains were taken to a crematorium from his residence in Mumbai. Tendulkar stated Wadekar’s demise was an “irreparable and personal loss” for him.” Wadekar lost his fight with cancer at a South Mumbai hospital at the age of 77.
After paying his last respects to the departed soul, Sachin said, “This is an irreparable loss. I will say it is a personal loss. People know Wadekar sir as a great cricketer, but I was fortunate enough to see him as a great cricketer as well as a wonderful person. For me, he was very important. Over the years our relationship grew stronger.”
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Wadekar’s body wrapped in the tricolor, his cricketing cap placed on top was kept at his Worli residence for people to pay their last respects before the cremation at Shivaji Park crematorium.
Tendulkar remembered Wadekar’s contribution in shaping up his career. He said, “Wadekar sir has a big contribution in my life, especially at a critical stage. I was a 20-year-old youngster at that time and it was easy for me to go off the track. At that time I needed the guidance of an experienced person, who himself had played and performed at that level. He understood how to bring the best out of the players. I was personally benefited by his presence in the team.”
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Talking about his bonding with Wadekar further, Sachin said that apart from being a great captain and coach, Wadekar was more of a friend to him. He also revealed that the southpaw had a great sense of segregation as he used to be immensely focussed during the team meetings, but while having a dinner, Wadekar use to hog the limelight with his wicked sense of humor.
Also present at the residence was former wicketkeeper and now BCCI General Manager (Cricket Operations) Saba Karim. He said, “All players of my age have followed him. He was a brilliant left-handed batsman. This is a great loss for the entire cricketing fraternity.”
