Former India captain Mohammad Azharuddin forged a successful combination with Ajit Wadekar as captain-coach in the early 1990s.
He was deeply saddened by Wadekar's demise and said he lost a “fatherly figure”.
He told DNA on Thursday that he was “travelling to New York later in the night”. “Otherwise, I would have dropped everything and come to sir’s funeral,” Azhar said.
Here is his tribute to Wadekar, whom he addressed as just 'sir'.
“It is very hard for me to put in words. He was a father figure to me. It is a personal loss for me. He was an outstanding person. For what all he has achieved in cricket and also in his banking career, you can’t find a better, down to earth person than sir. He was strict but at the same time knew how to respond to situations.
“From the time when I met him in 1985 when I was working in bank, sir had a soft corner for me. He commanded respect from any player. Everyone talks with respect for sir. Through his actions and humility, he has remained very humble.
“I am very lucky to have spent time with him. When he came as coach in 1992, he laid down rules. No staying out beyond 11'O clock at night. He wanted everyone to perform, at the same time let them enjoy life.
“He really understood the strengths of the team. And stated to play with the strengths. Earlier, we just wanted to play. But under him, we played to win. We had legend Kapil paaji and others really bowled well. Our strength was spin and we played on turning pitches, and started to win.
“I have been lucky on two counts, to first have my grandfather and parents to support me. After them, sir was one of the finest persons I have come across.
“In fact, two outstanding people have impacted my life to a great effect. One was (late actor) Sunil Dutt. He was an outstanding man. I am yet to come across a person like him. Although I did not have too many interactions with him, I was bowled over by his humility. What a man!
“The other was Wadekar sir. When I was not doing well in 1992, sir believed in me and I could make a comeback. When you meet these outstanding people, you get a lot of happiness, there is a lot of positivity.”
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