Legendary cricket coach Tarak Sinha dies at 71, tributes pour in

Legendary Indian cricket coach Tarak Sinha died on Saturday morning after a prolonged illness. He was 71. He is renowned for coaching a number of international and first-class cricketers across generations such as Shikhar Dhawan, Anjum Chopra, Rishabh Pant, Surinder Khanna, Manoj Prabhakar, Ajay Sharma, Atul Wassan and Ashish Nehra. 

The 71-year-old was a father figure in Delhi’s famous Sonnet Club, which has produced some of the country’s finest cricketers.

“It is with heavy heart we have to share this tragic news of Shri Tarak Sinha, the founder of Sonnet Club, has left us for heavenly abode at 3 am on Saturday after a brave battle with lung cancer for two months,” the Sonnet Club said in a statement.

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Referred to as “Ustad ji” by his disciples, Sinha nurtured, groomed and managed raw talent. He was conferred with a lifetime Dronacharya Award in 2018. 

Following his death, several people, including cricketers, paid tributes on social media.

“My heartfelt condolences to the family, friends and trainees of Tarak Sinha Sir. Never met him but heard so many inspirational stories from Nehra and Aakash Chopra. His contribution to Indian Cricket will be forever remembered. May his soul Rest In Peace. Om Shanti,” VVS Laxman tweeted.

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“It’s with immense sadness that we share the news of Coach Tarak Sinha’s passing. A Dronacharya awardee, he founded the Sonnet Club in Delhi, which has long been the home of  India’s top cricketers.

Our condolences to his family and close friends,” Delhi Capitals’ official Twitter handle stated. 

“Sorry to hear of the passing of the legendary cricket coach Tarak Sinha. I wrote about and his Sonnet Club in the column linked below, and at greater length in my book “The Commonwealth of Cricket,” Historian Ramchandra Guha tweeted.