'Sobers Warned I'd Die If I Was Hit'

'Maybe Sobers was upset that he could not touch Gavaskar, and when he came out to bat, he got dismissed off the first ball by me.'

Garry Sobers, the legendary cricketer, passed away two weeks before his 90th birthday, on July 17, 2026.

Sobers was a hero I had heard about from the time I chose to play cricket, and when I became a journalist, I got to read a lot about him too.

In countless interviews with international cricketers, his name would surface -- almost inevitably, almost reverentially. For many, he was not just an idol; he was the benchmark of greatness.

I never had the privilege of watching him play live -- only through grainy videos -- but was fortunate to spend time with those who have shared the field with him, and through them, Sobers came alive for me.

One of them was the late all-rounder Syed Abid Ali.

We used to spend a lot of time together in Sharjah and Dubai when he was coach of the UAE team. I remember writing about his encounters with Sobers in the early 2000s in the newspaper I then worked for in the UAE.

Once Abid Ali was invited to talk on 'Leadership and Motivation' at The Millennium School, Dubai. We had gone together for that event. He enthralled the students by narrating many inspiring incidents from his career, and one of them involved Sobers and himself.

Ali, known for his brilliant fielding skills, especially at backward square leg, told the students: "I always played fearlessly. I have been hit many times, and once Sobers, after sweeping a shot, warned that I would die if I was hit."

"I told Sobers that if it had to happen, it would. Soon, I almost caught him. A shocked Sobers asked me where I came from to attempt that catch."

After his speech, I asked Ali why he did not mention dismissing Sobers for a golden duck.

"They came to listen to get inspired about fielding and not my ability to have dismissed a great player for a duck. I don't like to mention that such a great player got out for a duck."

He then went on to narrate how he had dismissed Sobers for a duck.

Sobers was very superstitious

According to Ali, Sobers was very superstitious. During the 1971 tour of the West Indies, Sobers believed that touching Sunil Gavaskar's shoulder before a match would guarantee him a century.

Indian captain Ajit Wadekar heard about Sobers using Gavaskar as his lucky charm and locked Gavaskar in a bathroom to keep him out of Sobers' reach during the Port of Spain Test match.

"Maybe Sobers was upset that he could not touch Gavaskar, and when he came out to bat, he got dismissed off the first ball by me."

Ali was quick to add that in that match, Sobers also got him out for 10 when he opened the innings.

The first time a cricketer discussed hand-eye coordination with me was Aravinda De Silva.

After launching his Future Legends Cricket Academy in Dubai, when I asked why short people like him, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar were better batsmen, Aravinda said: "If you look at history, there must be something to it. But if you look at Sir Gary Sobers, he was not a short person. I feel that at the end of the day, it all depends on hand-eye coordination, which probably is the key to batting."

Karsan Ghavri on Gary Sobers

Karsan Ghavri told me how he'd tried to emulate Sobers. Like Sobers, he could bowl fast, spin, field anywhere, and bat too.

"In my younger days, I used to read a lot about Garry Sobers. He was my idol. He could bat anywhere, bowl with the new ball, and also spin, and field anywhere. He was my hero, and I wanted to emulate him. Though I knew I could not be like him, I wanted to be at least point zero per cent close to him."

I was fortunate to see the great man at close quarters only once, and that was with cricket enthusiast and businessman Shyam Bhatia when he launched his book Portraits Of The Game at the Centurion during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa and handed a copy to Sobers.

Sobers was a great entertainer. Talking about his game, he had once remarked: 'My game was built on one type of cricket -- if there was a ball to hit, you hit it, whether it was Test matches or whatever it was.'

Viv Richards and Virender Sehwag too said and did the same, and are remembered as great entertainers.

But Sobers was not just an entertainer -- he was the heartbeat of the game who through his allround performances showed every young cricketer they can excel in all departments of the game.

Feature Presentation: Aslam Hunani/Rediff