Nonagenarian cricket coach Hemant Hadkar felicitated

Ninety-year-old cricket coach Hemant Hadkar, who mentored former India skipper Dilip Vengsarkar when the latter was in school, was felicitated Sunday at the Mumbai Cricket Association's Bandra Kurla Complex here.

Vengsarkar, who arranged the felicitation ceremony with cricketers from his school days, greeted 'Hadkar sir', who continues to coach schoolchildren even now with the same grit, a media release issued here said.

He gave us practical training to make us strong in cricket as well as in life, Vengsarkar, who appeared in 116 Test matches for India, was quoted as saying in the release.

The former India captain, who praised Hadkar for his selfless cricket coaching, handed over a cheque of Rs 3 lakh, the release said.

Former Mumbai Ranji Trophy player Vasu Paranjpe, Vilas Godbole, former MCA joint secretary Dr PV Shetty were present on the occasion.

Godbole spoke about Hadkar's practical training and added that, nowadays, such type of selfless coaching was lacking, the release stated.