H IS name should have been Sir Graceful Sobers ! Such was his personality -- on the field of cricket and off it. Even from a distance, everybody would notice his grace -- and, of course, his greatness. What a man he was. All along, he knew what he could do, and how he would achieve that. Such a sense of purpose ! So when he retired from international cricket at a relatively young age of 37 when going for him was truly great, the world grieved. And now, when he passed away at age 89 years, the world will find itself grieving for who knows how long. Such was the charm of Sir Garfield Sobers, the cricket legend that the mystique around him would never melt. For, when he played cricket at different levels, everybody wondered what made him so very special.

 

And when he was not playing for whatever reason, the story of that day’s play would always be woven with him as a point of reference. This was the continuous story of cricket from the moment Garry Sobers started playing for the West Indies team at a young age of just 17. And the best part was that the charm, the sense of wonder, the sense of purpose he displayed on the very first day remained intact until the day he called it quits -- full twenty years later. Cricket was different in those days from the early-to-mid 1950s to early-to-mid 1970s. Yet, Sir Garfield Sobers dominated the space in a manner only he could achieve -- absolutely authentic, so much so that he became one of the game’s greatest signatures of all times. True, he had stopped playing cricket long, long ago -- more than fifty years ago. Yet, the stories and anecdotes of his greatness as a cricketer and a human being resonated the world over for reason of sheer greatness of the contribution he made -- as a batsman, as a bowler, as fielder of great merit, as a captain of rare virtuosity. He did lose matches, all right. But he won matches in his own style and grace that every other captain at every possible level of the game wanted to emulate.

 

‘Be like Garry Sobers’, fathers and coaches told their cricket-aspirant wards the world over. In other words, Garry Sobers was the role model whose appeal had transcended national boundaries Sobers grew to his stature in the footprint of greats such as Sir Frank Worrell, the man credited with having raised the standard of West Indies cricket to a metaphoric level. From him, Sobers learned basics of leadership, and added his own virtue to the gain. The result was an iconic institutionalisation of leadership. It was not without reason that West Indies produced a string of great captains for several years. Sir Garfield Sobers was a critical link in that chain. Without his mention, the story of West Indian cricket could never be written in fullness. Such was the virtue of Sobers’ leadership that even corporate leaders would have loved to be his pupils to learn the art and science of leading the organisation with an easy aplomb. Sobers’ batting prowess, his bowling skills, his athleticism as a fielder were of legendary levels. Countless tales and anecdotes would fill up book after book about Sobers. But even after each of his achievements, Garry Sobers was calm -- that would surprise anybody today when showmanship is considered virtue in sports. One of the most remarkable anecdotes is about the time when he hit six sixers on six consecutive balls in first class cricket -- the first of its kind feat in history.

 

Even after that, back in the dressing room, Sobers was found discussing not his batting prowess but the coffee he was sipping and its taste and aroma. Unmindful of the glorious peak of excellence he had reached just an hour earlier -- as if he had almost fully forgotten that he had done something truly unique. Sobers was, of course, fond of friends and partying with them. On many occasions, he would spend the whole night at a party before a match. The next morning, he was casually walk to the centre, holding his bat rather loosely in one hand and almost dragging feet. But once he took his stance, he became a transformed person. In those moods, scoring centuries and doing the needful for the team was only a matter of need and habit. On many occasions, Sobers took the ball himself for bowling when the rival team was truly wellentrenched.

 

In just a few deliveries, he would get the wellsettled batsman out -- and walk back to the top of his bowling run without fuss. These and many other anecdotes shows that cricket was Sobers’ life and religion. The game and its spirit had travelled to his core -- from where he produced cricket of rare brilliance habitually. Technically, he played perfect shots, all right. But he also produced many shots that later became part of the text book on the game.The smoothness of backlift and follow-through while delivering a shot were matters of sheer poetry. And each time he produced a poetic shot, a slight smile would slip from Sobers’ lips -- which charmed even the rival players. That smile wasn’t about his sense of self-importance or bragging; it only showed his sense of fulfillment of a shot he might have dreamt of privately. Yes, grace was Sir Garfield Sobers’ signature.

 

There were occasions when he got impatient with whatever was happening. Despite that, nobody could accuse that he ever lost his sense of proportion -- which actually defines grace. The death of a man of such merit is certainly a loss to cricket and the world of sports. He might have stopped playing long, long ago. Yet, his legend has endured and will endure. Generations of players would get inspired by the man -- simply because his stories would often get told to youngsters with stars in the eyes and fire in the bellies. And the tellers of the stories would often be people who were influenced and impressed by Garry Sobers once upon a time.