Garry Sobers, cricket’s original superstar who redefined the sport

In cricket’s deep memory, some players seem eternal and always relevant. The late Sir Donald Bradman was one, and Sir Garfield Sobers (89), who passed away in Barbados on Friday (July 17, 2026), was another. If batting’s aura always vested with Bradman, Sobers held sway as the supreme all-rounder.

Having last played for the West Indies in 1974, Sobers remained linked to cricket, an umbilical cord he retained with fervour. Touring squads in the Caribbean would often find Sobers walking in, curious to meet fresh talent, unaware of the awe he naturally generated, and eager to learn about how a sport he splendidly adorned, has evolved in a hyper-kinetic globe.

Sobers held the bat as a southpaw, and from his left arm emanated both pace and the guiles of spin. And as a fielder, alacrity was his defining attribute. He was a man of many parts, specifically in the willow game. His 8,032 runs and 235 wickets in Tests are special numbers indeed, but more than the statistical heavy-lifting, it was the magic he lent to sport that drew in the crowds.

His unbeaten 365 was the benchmark for the highest individual score in Tests for many years before Brian Lara went past the milestone in 1994. Sobers was not just about his massive presence in Tests, he could also, like the gun-slinging cowboys from those Western classics, swing the momentum within a blink of an eye.

Sobers hoisted six sixes against Malcolm Nash in an over during his forays into county cricket, and it was a first in First Class history. A few others replicated it at different points, and from an Indian perspective, stars like Ravi Shastri and Yuvraj Singh soared high with their plunder of 36 runs in an over.

The West Indian magic of stunning cricket and pulsating calypso, often found expression through Sobers. His audacity at the batting crease, and the seduction of batters to their doom while turning up as a bowler, were unique. That the International Cricket Council’s premier award in men’s cricket is named after him, is a reflection of the deep roots and incandescent pull that Sobers always wielded.

Sobers, ‘Garry’ to his close friends, ‘great man’ to the rest, redefined cricket. He played sport the hard way, but off the field he was grace personified. Cricket has lost its original superstar, and the sport will miss him forever.