Farokh Engineer retired from cricket almost 50 years ago. But the legendary Indian wicketkeeper-batsman, who settled down in Manchester after marrying an Englishwoman, still talks about the game with the same vigour he displayed while playing those fearless hook shots against the world’s fastest bowlers in the pre-helmet era.
Engineer is hale and hearty at 87, having recently undergone a successful heart valve surgery.
A Brylcreem model in his youth, he was India’s first glamour boy, who also played a significant role in India’s first-ever Test series on English soil in 1971.
Engineer was one of the world's finest keepers of his time.
Engineer is now itching to get back to Old Trafford — home of Lancashire Cricket Club where he became one of the legends of county cricket — for the fourth match of the new-look Indian team’s five-Test series against England.
During an exclusive interview with Khaleej Times over Zoom, Engineer reminisced about his glory days and also opened up about his friendship with Pele and George Best.
Q. Good to see you and you seem to be doing very well after the heart surgery…
Yes, I am fine and alive. And now I can’t wait to go to the Old Trafford for the India-England Test.
Q. Lancashire holds a very special place in your heart. You won so many trophies with them…
Engineer poses for a photograph at Old Trafford cricket ground in Manchester.
Yes, I'm now a vice president of the club, a lifelong vice president. And I'm also one of the legends of the club. They have selected only a few people as legends. You know, legend is a term that's very loosely used, but Lancashire have honoured me along with Clive Lloyd and others. So, we are not only vice presidents for life, but we are legends as well, and I am very proud of it because it's a great club and a great institution.
Q. Well, you are also an Indian cricket legend. You became the darling of Indian cricket for your flamboyant style of cricket, both in front of the wicket and behind it as a keeper-batter
I usually get youngsters telling me that their grandfathers used to talk about me because I'm almost 88 now. But it’s always nice to know that people still remember me.
Q. People who truly love cricket will never forget India’s historic Test series wins in the West Indies and England in 1971. And you played a big role in the series win against England…
Yes, I got important runs in that Test series. The first Test at Lord's, we should have won that match. I had a very interesting partnership with Sunil Gavaskar when we were chasing some 180-odd runs. But rains fell and we lost wickets. The third Test at The Oval, which we won, will always remain in my mind as one of the most historical moments in Indian cricket. You know people think that 1983 (World Cup triumph) was the renaissance of Indian cricket. But 1971 was the real resurgence of Indian cricket, not 1983. Of course, the 83 World Cup win was a great achievement. But if you ask me, the resurgence of Indian cricket was in 1971. Unfortunately, people have short memories, you see, people forget what's happened before.
Q. Now today’s youngsters who love Virat Kohli are probably not even aware of Viv Richards and Barry Richards, the South African legend who played only four Tests because of apartheid…
Engineer with Sunil Gavaskar (left) and Sachin Tendulkar
I have not seen a better batsman than Viv Richards and Barry Richards. You know, Sachin Tendulkar was a great player. Brian Lara was fantastic, a phenomenal player. Sunil Gavaskar was a great opening batsman. But you mentioned those two names — Viv Richards and Barry Richards — they were just incredible. Yes, the world hasn't heard much about Barry because he was from South Africa and South Africa was isolated those days because of that apartheid. I played against Gordon Greenidge and Barry Richards. I mean, what a formidable opening partnership that was for Hampshire. But we had good cricketers (at Lancashire). We had Clive Lloyd with us. You know, he was my roommate for over 10 years. The standard of county cricket was very high. Do you know how we were invited? Only six cricketers were initially invited to England to play county cricket, Garry Sobers, myself, Rohan Kanhai, Mike Proctor and Barry Richards. All those were greats of the game, but you mentioned two names, Viv and Barry. Viv was absolutely phenomenal for me. I think he's the finest batsman I have ever seen or played against, because his reflexes were so quick. Barry wasn't far behind, our own Tendulkar was a great player too. But Viv was the best I have seen.
Q. The purists of the game still rave about your hundred against the fearsome West Indies attack at Chennai in 1967. They still call it one of the best attacking innings in Test cricket…
Engineer was famous for his fearless batting.
Yes, I almost scored a century before lunch against Wes Hall, Charlie Griffith and Garry Sobers. When they won the toss on a real green top, nobody (in the Indian team) wanted to open. We didn't have any helmets, no thigh pads, no chest pads, nothing. I mean, there was no protection at all. People now rave about today’s fast bowlers, but those guys were really quick. And I hooked their bounces all over the place. I was 94 before lunch, and when (spinner) Lance Gibbs came on after lunch, I hit him out of the stadium. People joke that the ball is still travelling because they never found it.
Q. Cricket is not the same sport you played back in the 1960s and 1970s. There was absolutely no money then, and now players earn millions of dollars for playing a two-month-long IPL.
I remember a Test match against New Zealand. We're winning the game in four days. Those days we used to get 50 rupees per day for a Test match. If we had won the match in four days, we would have lost out on the 50 rupees for the fifth and the final day. So when we were nearing the victory target, all sorts of messages were coming from the dressing room. They wanted us to defend. And a loud cheer went on when we had two or three runs left to score the next day for 50 rupees each. Luckily, I was involved with the advertising people at Brylcreem. Denis Compton was the first person to model for Brylcreem, and he was a double International. He was a soccer international and a cricket international for England. Then there was Keith Miller, the flamboyant Australian all-rounder, fantastic legend, good-looking guy, and I was the third person. To be offered a contract by Brylcreem those days was like being on the cover page of Vogue magazine.
Q. We also heard stories about your friendship with Pele and George Best...
Brazil legend Pele is the only player to have won three World Cups.
Pele became a very dear friend of mine. Gordon Banks invited him to England and we got talking that day. He was playing golf with Bobby Charlton the next day. I live just 100 yards from that golf course. And he asked me if there was a good hotel where he could stay. I just looked at my wife, and I said 'you can stay with us.' So he came and stayed over at our place. Now when we have guests at our house, I show them the bed where Pele slept. He was a wonderful man, he gave me his shirt and also signed it.
And how did you become friends with Best?
George came from (Northern) Ireland and I came from India. You know the Old Trafford cricket ground is only 100 yards away from the Manchester United football club. So there's a lot of connection with that and George just became friendly. He loved to eat curries, and so we just hit it off from the start.
Q. Did you get to see the other side of him, his flamboyant lifestyle?
Manchester United icon George Best.
We had a car crash when I was giving him a lift to the ground. There was a traffic light and George being George, put this window down and started talking to a blonde. I don't know if you knew her or not. So I took my eyes off and suddenly the car in front stopped and I hit it. When the police came, I said, 'I'm sorry'. And he was like 'you don't see many blondes in Bombay'. So we were that kind of friends. I got a lovely shirt from him, his boots as well. I've got them at home, I will never sell them.
Q. Cricket may not have given you a lot of money, but it gave you some amazing friends…
When I meet my (cricket) contemporaries, we have a good laugh. I was with Viv Richards a couple of weeks ago, and we had a great time. He had come over to England for a trade show. You know even Dennis Lillee came over from Australia to play my benefit match in India. We are still close friends, even though I scored 192 against him and Jeff Thomson, not against Australia, but in a tour game in Brisbane. So, we have kept our friendship going, and I hope it keeps blossoming till the day we die.
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