On November 6, Tarak Sinha, a renowned coach from Delhi’s famous Sonnet Cricket Club, passed away, after succumbing to lung cancer. Sinha was 71 years old.
Sinha was single and was survived by his sister. Hailing from a typical middle-class family, Sinha realized his dream of serving cricket by starting his own cricket academy named Sonnet in 1969. Sonnet Club has produced 11 international cricketers and over 40 first-class cricketers. Some of the cricketers produced by Sinha and his Sonnet Cricket Club are, Surinder Khanna, Sanjeev Sharma, Manoj Prabhakar, the late Raman Lamba, KP Bhaskar, Ajay Sharma, Atul Wassan, Aakash Chopra, Anjum Chopra, Rumeli Dhar, Ashish Nehra, Shikhar Dhawan, Rishabh Pant and Nitish Rana.
After coaching for close to 50 years, Sinha was conferred with the lifetime Dronacharya Award in 2018.
Tarak Sinha, the soul of Sonnet Cricket Club which has given India and Delhi cricket so many gems, passes away aged 71 in New Delhi.
Rest in Peace, sir 🙏 pic.twitter.com/hTwk0rK32F
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) November 6, 2021
“It is with heavy heart we have to share this tragic news of Shri Tarak Sinha, the founder of Sonnet Club, who left us for heavenly abode at 3 am on Saturday after a brave battle with lung cancer for two months. He has been the soul of Sonnet Cricket Club which has given India and Delhi cricket so many gems. We want to thank each and everyone who has been by his side in these trying times and prayed for his recovery. We also want to appreciate the efforts put in by the doctors in Jaipur and Delhi who worked tirelessly to revive him. Tarak sir’s pride was his students, and his support through this period kept him going. He was only thinking about grooming young talent during this battle. Even at the age of 70, he was enthusiastic about getting to the field and working on young cricketers. He was in good spirits till his last breath, believing he could still get up on his feet! It’s a heavy day for all of us at Sonnet Club, the cricket fraternity and most importantly the students who have always seen him as a guardian,” the Sonnet Cricket Club said in a statement
Popularly known as “Ustaad ji” in the cricketing circle, Sinha was not only a coach but also a father figure to players that came to him for coaching. He trained, nurtured and groomed them well. He instilled in them the belief that they can play for India. At the same time, he ensured that none of his students ignored academics and encouraged them to have a Plan B ready. His longtime assistant Devender Sharma, who has actively coached the likes of India’s wicket-keeper bat Rishabh Pant, was by his side. Pant trained under Sinha and Sharma from the age of 12, when he moved to Delhi. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo in late 2016, when Pant was yet to make his India debut, the batter had said, “For sir, I have to play Test cricket. In our club, only Test players are called ‘country’ players by sir.”
Sinha has coached Rajasthan team in the Ranji Trophy and has helped them to go from bottom of the Plate Group to winning the title on two consecutive occasions. He has also coached the Indian women’s cricket team in 2000-01.
I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.