Former Cricket Coach Rajabhau Oak Dies Aged 85

Rajabhau Oak, the former cricket coach who made a name for himself for mentoring several players including those who represented Maharashtra, died on Tuesday aged 85 due to old age.

Oak plied his trade as coach for the Deodhar Trust cricket academy  as well as Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya, a school in Pune. He had also coached S P College. Maharashtra coach Surendra Bhave paid his tribute to Rajabhau Oak while pointing out the former coach’s contribution in the game.

“Oak sir died at a hospital here Tuesday morning. He (Rajabhau) was the coach at the Deodhar Trust (a cricket academy). He was also the coach of Nutan Marathi Vidyalaya (a school in Pune) and both were good teams. He had also coached S P College,” Bhave told PTI.

“The Deodhar Trust used to run on the interest on the prize money received by Prof D B Deodhar from the government. Many players came forward through it. Rajabhau worked tirelessly for cricket and also managed affairs of the Deodhar Trust for about 35-40 years. His contribution (to the game) was huge,” Bhave added.

Bhave, who played 97 first-class games and was himself mentored by Rajabhau Oak, stated that players like former off-spinner Shantanu Sugvekar were trained by Oak. Former Maharashtra speedster Pandurang Salgaonkar said Oak’s contribution to the sport was “immense”.