News
Vasoo Paranjape, Coach Of Sunil Gavaskar Gavaskar And Rohit Sharma, Passes Away
By Aditya Pratap - Aug 30, 2021 11:04 pm
Views 68

Former first-class cricketer and coach Vasoo Paranjape has passed away on Monday. Born in Gujrat, he was 82 and had played 29 first-class matches for Mumbai and Baroda. He is well-known for shaping the careers of Sunil Gavaskar and several other Indian greats.

Vasoo Paranjape and Jatin Paranjape

He was a coach at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and was the father of former Indian players Jatin Paranjape, who played four One-Day Internationals for India in 1998.

Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar unimpressed with Team India’s batting show

Paranjape, in his first-class career, scored 785 runs at an average of 23.78 and picked up nine wickets. His highest first-class score of 127 came against Baroda in the 1964-65 Ranji season. But more significantly, he mentored and coached several other prominent cricketers emerging from the city, including Sunil Gavaskar, Dilip Vengsarkar and Rohit Sharma, among others.

As soon as the news of his demise came out, the Indian cricketing fraternity went into the state of shock. Cricketers of yesteryear and mainly Mumbai-based cricketers expressed their sadness at the passing away of Paranjape.

See how Twitter Reacted to Vasoo Paranjape’s demise;

Sachin Tendulkar recalled some of his memories of Vasu Paranjape. “Vasu sir, as I have always known him, was one of the best coaches I have worked with. He has been an integral part of my cricketing journey since childhood and a mentor in many ways. Early in my career, I remember him telling me in Marathi, ‘You watch out for the first 15 minutes and the opposition will watch you for the rest of the day.’ He was knowledgeable, lively and had a great sense of humour. I had visited him a few months ago and he was his usual humorous self.

Also Read: Sunil Gavaskar bemused when Umpire asked Rishabh Pant to change his stance

“During our under 15 national camps in Indore, the caretaker had gone complaining to him (as Coach) about us boys playing with a tennis ball in the night, keenly expecting some support and stringent action. Vasu Sir in his inimitable style reacted, ‘They are kids and will play. Why don’t you also field for them,’ leaving the caretaker stumped! He has left us with many memories and moments to smile. I feel that a piece of me has left the world. RIP Vasu Sir.”