top of page

By:

C.S. Krishnamurthy

21 June 2025 at 2:15:51 pm

The Gentleman Legend

Every sport produces champions. Very few produce figures who become the measure by which all future greatness is judged. Sir Garfield Sobers belonged to that rare company. His passing leaves untouched a reputation that has remained unchallenged for generations. Cricket has witnessed magnificent batsmen, devastating bowlers, athletic fielders and exceptional all-rounders. Yet, whenever the conversation turns to the most complete cricketer the game has produced, Garfield Sobers remains the...

The Gentleman Legend

Every sport produces champions. Very few produce figures who become the measure by which all future greatness is judged. Sir Garfield Sobers belonged to that rare company. His passing leaves untouched a reputation that has remained unchallenged for generations. Cricket has witnessed magnificent batsmen, devastating bowlers, athletic fielders and exceptional all-rounders. Yet, whenever the conversation turns to the most complete cricketer the game has produced, Garfield Sobers remains the benchmark. His achievements have long been part of cricketing folklore. More than 8,000 Test runs at an average above 57, 235 wickets with three distinct styles of left arm bowling, and over 100 catches speak of a player blessed with extraordinary versatility. His unbeaten 365 against Pakistan in 1958 stood as the highest individual Test score for more than 36 years, an innings that reflected both technical brilliance and remarkable concentration. Statistics, however, explain only part of the story. Sobers possessed the rare ability to make difficult things appear effortless. Whether unfurling a cover drive, bowling with the new ball, switching seamlessly to spin as conditions demanded, or producing moments of brilliance in the field, he seemed to play cricket with uncommon ease. He was not merely adaptable. He excelled in every discipline the game offered. Little wonder that generations have searched for “the next Sobers.” Equally little wonder that none has truly emerged. Enduring Legacy One of the defining images of his career came in 1968 when, playing for Nottinghamshire against Glamorgan, he became the first cricketer to strike six sixes in a single first-class over. It was an astonishing feat in an era when such aggression was almost unimaginable. Today, boundaries arrive in abundance in franchise cricket. Sobers accomplished the extraordinary long before power hitting became fashionable. Yet his enduring appeal rested on far more than spectacular performances. He played with an infectious sense of freedom that reminded spectators that cricket, despite its pressures, remained a game to be enjoyed. There was elegance without extravagance, confidence without arrogance, and authority without intimidation. The old sporting maxim that "form is temporary, class is permanent" found one of its finest expressions in Sobers. His class lay not only in the manner of his batting or bowling, but also in his conduct. He accepted victories without arrogance and setbacks without bitterness, a rare blend of grace that won him admirers far beyond the boundary ropes. As captain, Sobers led the West Indies during a formative period in Caribbean cricket. The years of complete dominance would come later, but he helped build the confidence and identity that shaped one of the game's greatest teams. Leadership, for him, was never about rhetoric. It was about setting an example. Many anecdotes continue to illuminate his remarkable career. One of the most enduring suggests that if someone were asked to choose a team to save the world, Sobers would be selected first and the rest could follow. It is an exaggeration, certainly, but it captures the esteem in which he was held by teammates, rivals and followers alike. There is another story that reveals the man behind the legend. Throughout his retirement, Sobers remained remarkably approachable, generous with his time and willing to engage with young cricketers wherever he travelled. Knighthood never altered his simplicity. Those who met him often spoke first of his warmth, and only then of his greatness. His affection for India was equally well known, and it was warmly reciprocated. Older cricket followers vividly remember his performances on Indian soil, while younger generations came to know him through stories told by parents, coaches and commentators. Across eras, the verdict remained unchanged. Modern cricket celebrates specialists whose workloads are carefully managed. Sobers represented an age when versatility was indispensable. He responded to every challenge his captain presented without complaint and invariably strengthened the side. “They broke the mould after him” is a phrase often used too freely in sport. In Sobers’ case, it feels entirely justified. Cricket has lost one of its finest ambassadors. The scorebooks will preserve his runs, wickets and catches. Archives will preserve the images. Historians will preserve the achievements. What cannot be fully preserved is the privilege of watching a player who expanded the possibilities of the game while embodying its finest values. Sir Garfield Sobers was not simply the greatest all-round cricketer of his time. He was one of cricket's finest gentlemen. That distinction, perhaps even more than his remarkable records, ensures that his legacy will endure for generations. (The writer is a retired banker and author. Views personal.)

Why is Mamata Seeing Ghost of Bangladesh?

Updated: Oct 21, 2024

Why is Mamata Seeing Ghost of Bangladesh?

Mamata is seeing a ghost of Bangladesh behind the massive outrage and waves of protest over rape and murder of the trainee doctor. And the reasons are many.

It’s been over a fortnight. Yet with each passing day the voice of protest is getting louder and stronger. From the streets of Kolkata it’s pouring into roads of hinterland. The cry for justice for a rape victim has consolidated into a wail of demands to set a lot of wrongdoings right. Here in lies the fear and trepidation. Wasn’t the issue that brought the youth of Bangladesh out on the thoroughfares a simple, innocent one of quota reform?

The chief minister of Bengal, known for understanding the pulse of people better than many, was quick to read the signages floating in the political horizon.

The most obvious reason for her to be tensed is that both the regime change in Bangladesh and the mass protest in Bengal, were student-driven to begin with. The two incidents---end of 15 year old Sheikh Hasina government and turbulence in West Bengal, over the heinous crime, falling back to back, the first on August 5th and the latter from August 9th onwards, give natural scope for comparisons. More so, because in both the cases the movement strayed beyond an affected constituency to include aggrieved people at large, cutting across socio-economic demography. If the quota reform protest started by students in Bangladesh became a mass uprising against an autocratic regime, the campaign demanding justice for the rape victim and overall safety and security of women in Mamata Banerjee’s Bengal soon snowballed into a movement of no-confidence against the government. Slogans--”Mamata must resign” also got floated in social media much in line with the call for ouster of Sheikh Hasina. In fact “Resignation of Hasina” became the single point agenda into which all other fringe demands coalesced.

Incidentally, even before people started drawing parallels, that there could be a thread of commonality in the way the upheaval in Bangladesh and Bengal played out, Mamata was quick to point out that the Opposition were trying to pull off a Bangladesh by politicizing the tragic incident: “A coordinated approach has been executed by the BJP and the CPIM with support from the Centre to defame Bengal and exploit the situation....They want to make a Bangladesh here. They are taking cues from student unrest in Bangladesh and are attempting to capture similarly. I have no longing for the chair. I came here to serve people.”

Not only Mamata, her political lieutenants are consistently equating the turmoil in Bengal with the mayhem in Bangladesh. Cabinet minister for North Bengal development Udayan Guha threatened to take stern action against those, who would be trying to exploit the situation by emulating a Bangladesh like movement. “ Even after the hospital was vandalised, the police did not open fire on anyone. The police will not allow a Bangladesh type situation. We will not allow Bengal to turn into Bangladesh, Guha thundered.

Is the government’s fear unfounded?

Apart from the similarities on ground zero, as to how and where the future course of events are heading to, there are ample reasons for Bengal to mull on-- as to what led to a Bangladesh like boiling point. To begin with, it’ll be appropriate to talk of Bangladesh and the prevailing situation, that made the students’ protest become big in magnitude. The students were out on the streets because of a high reservation in public jobs. Unemployment and stagnant job market in private sector coupled with a high rate of inflation drove the educated youth to rebel against the government.

But soon the students found enormous number of sympathisers, who were equally at the receiving end. According to Bangladesh citizens, the last two terms of the Sheikh Hasina government were a mockery of democracy. Even elections would be compromised. As Hasina grew from strength to strength, she politicized institutions. The rank and file of police owed allegiance to the ruling dispensation. Extortion, harrassment and raids by police and people in power became rampant. An atmosphere of fear and repression reigned and people got restless to overthrow the government.

Politicization of institutions has been happening in Mamata government too. Allegations are quite strong that police in Bengal functions at the beck and call of political bosses. The lapses and alleged loopholes on the part of police in handling the rape and murder of the young doctor have yet again revealed a sense of confused or misplaced loyalty.

But above everything else both Hasina and Mamata governments allegedly seem to have twined in accepting corruption as a way of life. In Bangladesh jobs of primary and secondary teachers got sold at premium, Rs 10-12 lakh in the Hasina regime. Even police had to pay up for prized postings and transfers. In Bengal busting of the teacher’s recruitment scam has revealed how unsuccessful and ineligible candidates got government jobs in schools in exchange of bribes.

Similarities are multiple and inescapable. Mamata has good reasons to be apprehensive. It’s not only she, who can see and connect the dots. People, out on the streets, clamoring for justice, can see a providential pattern somewhere in the unfolding of future events in these two places-- Bangladesh and Bengal. True, they share more than 2,217 odd km of border. They share the same umbilical cord, other than language, culture, ethos, icons. Even emotions are the same. So she cannot take any risk.

(The writer is a senior jounalist based in Kolkata. Views personal)

Comments

bottom of page