Tarak Sinha was the first ‘international cricket coach’ I met in early 2002 when he was appointed coach of the Indian women’s team. It was a brief chat with him as I was mostly focused on the stories of the upcoming players. And that was his solitary stint as a national coach and it remains a mystery why did he never made it to the highest level coaching even as an assistant coach, India A coach or as an Under 19 coach by the BCCI ever, despite an envious CV which boasts more than a dozen international cricketers who learned the ropes at his academies.
My re-introduction to Tarak Sinha ‘sir’ or Ustadji as he was fondly called, was on the same day (March 2004) I was introduced to Shikhar Dhawan at Sonnet Cricket Club in South Delhi’s Venkateshwara college campus. It was around the time when Dhawan had returned from the Under-19 World Cup in Bangladesh where he had emerged as the highest run-getter. However, Ustadji’s words still ring in my ears when I was about to interview the left-hander for a TV channel in 2004. “Yaad rakhna, Vimalji, yeh ladka bahut aagey jayega,” making sure his pupil didn’t hear the conversation as he rarely praised his wards in front of media. Dhawan and Sinha parted ways but his prediction was bang on.
Renowned Cricket Coach and Dronacharya Awardee Tarak Sinha Passes Away Aged 71
Over the last two decades, this writer spent many lazy afternoons at his club in the company of Ashish Nehra and Aakash Chopra along with the coach. Both the players were playing for India regularly at that time and yet Sinha treated them like any other kid. Of course, he was also nice towards us but would not hesitate in teaching a thing or two about cricketing nuance. Mostly, the conversation used to be educational for us as well.
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Despite his extraordinary accomplishments, it was strange that he was never considered for Dronahraya Award till recently (he got it inexplicably very late). Of course, he was not someone looking for rewards or awards in his seemingly selfless service to the game, but it did hurt the lack of acknowledgment from the powers that be. His simple and yet inspiring stories moved me so much that once I suggested his name for SEEtalks (a la Tedtalk) lecture in 2016. Sinha eventually agreed after a lot of persuasions but when he spoke at the event, he was the star of the day even if it had the likes of Hardik Pandya and Krunal Pandya among the other speakers. Sinha’s simplicity and his passion and commitment to cricket were simply unparalleled.
One also remembers the journey from his Vaishali residence (in National Capital Region) to Delhi airport on 15th June 2016 where he called up a young player to meet him on a nondescript road. I kept asking who was that and he said, ‘chalo nah aapko milata hoon future ke star se’. To my amazement, the future India star was waiting on the side-lines of an empty road for an hour or so as sir had just asked him to meet! The old school of Guru-Shishya parampra was at display. And, I was once again introduced to another India star who had just made his first-class and List A debut for Delhi. For half an hour, Rishabh Pant was sitting with us in the taxi and Sinha was guiding him as any parent would do before leaving the city. The warmth and love for Pant was unmistakable.
However, the one thing which makes me sad is that I could never start working on his autobiography which we discussed a couple of times in the past. Last time, a couple of months ago, we discussed the topic over the phone that we can start as soon as the pandemic gets over, yet again he seemed strangely reluctant. However, he had promised me that he would do an interview with Rishabh Pant and him together for a special documentary. Alas, that can’t be done now. You have given so much to cricket, Go well sir.
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