{"id":194548,"date":"2026-07-18T18:22:21","date_gmt":"2026-07-18T23:52:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194548"},"modified":"2026-07-18T18:22:21","modified_gmt":"2026-07-18T23:52:21","slug":"of-engineer-sobers-and-his-hilarious-golf-advice-to-gavaskar","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194548","title":{"rendered":"Of Engineer, Sobers, and his hilarious golf advice to Gavaskar"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

Sir Garfield Sobers\u2019 wit was as effortless as his genius with bat and ball. Farokh Engineer recalled one such unforgettable moment on a golf course in Australia when the West Indies legend, watching Sunil Gavaskar repeatedly top the ball, quipped:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is one game where you are allowed to hit the ball in the air.\u201d For Engineer, that sharp humour was inseparable from the man he hailed \u201cthe greatest and most complete cricketer\u201d the game has ever seen.<\/p>\n

\u201cI played golf with him many times. A lovely story about him, me and Sunil Gavaskar playing golf in Australia.<\/p>\n

\u201cSunil kept topping the ball and Gary tapped him on the shoulder and said, \u2018This is one game where you are allowed to hit the ball in the air,\u2019\u201d former India wicketkeeper-batsman Engineer said with a laugh during an exclusive interview with PTI<\/i>.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t think any other, certainly no Indian Test cricketer has been associated so closely with him because he\u2019s a bit senior to me.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I first started playing for the All India Universities against the West Indies, I scored one of my fastest centuries against him.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the first to come and shake my hand when I got my hundred against the likes of Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith, Lance Gibbs and him.<\/p>\n

ALSO READ:<\/b>Harsh Dubey replaces injured Washington Sundar in squad<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n

But it was Sobers who got me out eventually. He and I had a very close relationship.\u201d That friendship continued in county cricket \u201cWe played… he and I were both invited by Lancashire. I was invited by four counties. But I chose to play for Lancashire because Gary and I were both invited there.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut Gary and Lancashire couldn\u2019t agree to terms,\u201d Engineer said.<\/p>\n

According to Engineer, Sobers was capable of doing virtually everything on a cricket field better than almost anyone else.<\/p>\n

Sobers, whose remarkable versatility made him a once-in-a-generation cricketer, died on Friday, leaving behind a legacy that has inspired generations of players across the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the most complete living cricketer of all time until this sad day. The whole cricketing world will mourn a genius,\u201d Engineer said from London.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a good friend and he\u2019ll be very, very sadly missed, not only by the cricketing world but by everyone who knew him. I spoke to Wes Hall a little while ago. I spoke to Mrs Sobers and the mood is very sombre in Barbados.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a great human being, an ambassador for Barbados and the greatest, the most complete cricketer the world has produced or I have seen or played against.\u201d<\/p>\n

A left-handed batter, who also could also bowl left-arm pace, wrist spin and orthodox spin, Sobers claimed 235 wickets in Test cricket. He played in a solitary ODI, taking one wicket. He was also a splendid fielder.<\/p>\n

For Engineer, who kept wickets to Sobers in the World XI and shared countless moments with him on and off the field, there was simply no comparison when it came to the Barbadian\u2019s all-round abilities.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the best in everything. He could catch better than anyone. He could bowl quick. He could swing the ball better than most. And of course, he could bat. I wouldn\u2019t say better than anyone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere have been a few great batsmen that we have produced like Rohan Kanhai, Graham Pollock, Barry Richards, Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, but certainly none like Gary.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI still remember when he scored that big double century in Melbourne, I was the non-striker for quite a while,\u201d the former India wicketkeeper recalled.<\/p>\n

Remembering their days together in the World XI, Engineer said, \u201cWe played for the World XI together. We had a very close relationship because I\u2019ve taken so many catches off his bowling, so many stumpings off his spin bowling, and so many catches together, literally two or three feet from each other as he fielded in leg slip. And all I could say was, \u2018Great catch, Serbi, keep it up, Serbi.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Their friendship extended well beyond cricket.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was absolutely fantastic playing with him and enjoying his company on and off the field. He loved a good party, and so did I. We went to a few good parties together. We brought in quite a few Christmases together.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have several humorous moments.\u201d<\/p>\n

Published on Jul 18, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n


\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sir Garfield Sobers\u2019 wit was as effortless as his genius with bat and ball. Farokh Engineer recalled one such unforgettable moment on a golf course in Australia when the West Indies legend, watching Sunil Gavaskar repeatedly top the ball, quipped: \u201cThis is one game where you are allowed to hit the ball in the air.\u201d…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":194549,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-194548","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/sobers20engineer.jpg","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":194221,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194221","url_meta":{"origin":194548,"position":0},"title":"Remembering Sir Garfield Sobers: The man who could do everything","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"July 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"There was nothing he could not do on the cricket field. Garry Sobers, long after Don Bradman had stopped playing, brought a rare culture to the game - celebration of feats in every department, with respect in flow for the opponent too. Sobers loved his mastery. He loved his rivals\u2019\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image20-202026-07-17T230820.278.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image20-202026-07-17T230820.278.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image20-202026-07-17T230820.278.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image20-202026-07-17T230820.278.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/image20-202026-07-17T230820.278.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":194233,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=194233","url_meta":{"origin":194548,"position":1},"title":"Tributes pour in post passing away of cricket legend Sir Garfield “Garry” Sobers","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"July 17, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"Tributes have poured in from across the world after the death of Sir Garfield \u201cGarry\u201d Sobers, with players, administrators, teams and boards describing his passing as an \u201cirreplaceable loss\u201d and celebrating him as one of the sport\u2019s greatest icons. Cricket West Indies led the tributes, posting: \u201cA great innings has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sports"","block_context":{"text":"Sports","link":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1_Sobers_Chandrasekhar_vb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1_Sobers_Chandrasekhar_vb.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1_Sobers_Chandrasekhar_vb.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1_Sobers_Chandrasekhar_vb.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/newslink360.space\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1_Sobers_Chandrasekhar_vb.jpg?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":198690,"url":"https:\/\/newslink360.space\/?p=198690","url_meta":{"origin":194548,"position":2},"title":"Ajinkya Rahane retires \u2014 An understated giant exits, leaving Indian Test cricket immeasurably richer","author":"Ajay Kumar Verma","date":"July 30, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The last cog in an erstwhile Indian Test batting juggernaut has bid farewell. Ajinkya Rahane\u2019s retirement, along with the earlier departures of Cheteshwar Pujara, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma, besides Murali Vijay\u2019s slow fadeout, marks the passing of a collective baton. 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