Legendary cricket coach Tarak Sinha passes away
text_fieldsNew Delhi: Renowned and acclaimed cricket coach Tarak Sinha passed away on Saturday after his battle with cancer, Asian News International reports. The 71-year-old who had been coaching and nurturing cricketers for over four decades had coached Indian squad members, Shikhar Dhawan and Rishabh Pant.
The Sonnet Cricket Club, founded by Sinha, released an official statement which read, "It is with a heavy heart we have to share this tragic news of Shri Tarak Sinha, the founder of the Sonnet Club, has left for his heavenly abode at 3 am on Saturday after a brave battle with lung cancer for two months. He has been the soul of Sonnet Cricket Club which has given Indian and Delhi cricket so many gems. We want to thank each, and everyone been by his side in these trying times and prayed for his recovery."
The club appreciated and thanked the efforts of doctors in Delhi and Jaipur who helped Sinha. Sinha's pride was his students, and their support kept him during his fight against cancer. Despite his age. he was very enthusiastic about getting to the field and working on young cricketers, the club added in its statement.
The Sonnet Club stood as Delhi's supply line when in need of talented players, and it was where Sinha operated. His illustrious career as a coach had mentored ace Indian cricketers like Surinder Khanna, Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Sharma, Atul Wassan, Ashish Nehra, Sanjeev Sharma, Aakash Chopra, Shikhar Dhawan, Anjum Chopra and Rishabh Pant.
Sinha is the fifth cricket coach to win the Dronacharya award, after Desh Prem Azad, Gurcharan Singh, Ramakant Achrekar and Sunita Sharma.
Meanwhile, The BCCI on Saturday expressed grief at the passing away of Sinha.
"The Board of Control for Cricket in India expresses grief at the passing away of renowned and well-respected coach Shri Tarak Sinha. The founder of Sonnet Cricket Club, which produced an assembly line of international and first-class cricketers breathed his last on Saturday," the Indian cricket board said in a statement.
While he coached the wards, he was also credited for spotting talents at an early age and giving them the right kind of coaching required to shape their careers. Sinha also briefly coached the Indian women's team and worked with the likes of Indian legends Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami. He also enjoyed a successful run as a Ranji Trophy coach.