Memories of Sobers through Abid Ali, Aravind De Silva and Karsan Ghavri

By K.R. Nayar

Garry Sobers, the legendary cricketer from the West Indies, passed away two weeks before his 90^th 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 former Indian all-rounder Syed Abid Ali. We used to spend a lot of time together in Sharjah and Dubai when he was the coach of the UAE team. I remember writing about his encounters with Sobers during the early 2000s, and they were published in the newspaper I worked for in the UAE.

Once 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 Gary 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."

Abid Ali in a friendly match goes out to bat with former Dubai Cricket Council secretary Mohamed Lokhandwala

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’d dismissed Sobers for a duck.

According to Ali, Sobers was very superstitious. During the 1971 tour of the West Indies, Sobers believed that touching legendary Indian batter 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’d opened the innings.

The first time a cricketer discussed hand-eye coordination with me was Aravinda De Silva. In an exclusive interview after launching his Future Legends Cricket Academy in Dubai, when I asked him why shorter people were like him, Sunil Gavaskar, and 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.”

Interview with Karsan Ghavri when he came to Dubai in 2017 to conduct a camp for G Force in Dubai 

Karsan Ghavri was another cricketer who, in an exclusive interview, had 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 Gary 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.”

These are just a few of those who I interacted with wanted to be like Sobers. But I am sure there would many more cricketers who wished they had grown up to become an all-rounder like him. I was fortunate to see him closely only once, and that was with cricket enthusiast and businessman Shyam Bhatia when he launched his book Portraits of the Game in Centurion during the 2003 ICC Cricket World Cup in South Africa, and handed a copy to him. Bhatia had invited me for the occasion.

Shyam Bhaita presents his book Portraits of the game to Garry Sobers

Sobers was also 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.