- Friday, April 26, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA’S cricketing fraternity mourned the demise of noted coach in the game Vasu Paranjape on Monday (30). The 82-year-old died at his residence in Matunga in Mumbai, the capital of the western state of Maharashtra, and is survived by his wife and son Jatin Paranjape, a former Indian cricketer and national selector.
Former India captain Sachin Tendulkar paid glowing tributes to Paranjape, calling him one of the best coaches he has worked with. In a statement, the legend said, “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.”
Another former India captain and the current head coach of the Indian national team Ravi Shastri, who is currently in England for a Test series, also condoled his death and described him as “an institution in the game with a real positive vibe in whatever he did”.
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The Board of Control for Cricket in India also condoled the passing away of Paranjape by saying in a statement that with his excellent grasp of the game, Paranjape shaped the careers of several Mumbai and India stalwarts. It also said that equipped with technical nuances, Paranjape used his man-management skills with great effect.
BCCI statement on the passing away of Shri Vasudeo Paranjape.
Details ▶️ https://t.co/q7XS9Xgmpy pic.twitter.com/SaUD8fFTFd
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 31, 2021
Paranjape had played 29 first-class games between 1956 and 1970 for Mumbai and Baroda cricket teams. He has also been a part of the Mumbai side which won the Ranji Trophy, India’s premier domestic cricket tournament, several times. Paranjape, who bowled right-handed and bowled slow left-arm orthodox, scored 785 runs in first-class cricket with two hundreds and the best score of 127.
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However, it was after his retirement from the game that Paranjape made a bigger impact on it. He became a mentor and administrator and played a key role behind the growing up of a number of stalwarts of Indian cricket, starting from Sunil Gavaskar to Dilip Vengsarkar to Rahul Dravid to Rohit Sharma. The Indian cricket board appointed Paranjape as the director of coaching in the 1980s and he was also the head coach of junior cricketers’ camps. He was also among the first set of coaches when the National Cricket Academy was inaugurated in 2000.
Paranjape was a man of humour and Tendulkar gave an example.
“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,” the maestro said.
I feel that a piece of me has left the world.
Rest in Peace Vasu Sir. 🙏 pic.twitter.com/0ynyJ7LQNu
— Sachin Tendulkar (@sachin_rt) August 30, 2021
