Garfield Sobers' romance with actress Anju Mahendru remains one of the most interesting love stories between cricket and Bollywood.

Mumbai, July 25, 2026: Last week, when Garfield Sobers, the ‘greatest all-rounder of all time’, died aged 89, I remembered the first time I had heard his name. I must have been six years old and was probably talking about Sachin Tendulkar when my grandfather told me about the talents of Sobers. A few days later, while talking to my father about him, he mentioned two other aspects of Sobers that I didn’t know about: the legend’s relationship with actress Anju Mahendru and his appearance in a Bollywood film.

What was interesting about this was that the only West Indies-India Bollywood-cricket romantic connection the current generation is mildly aware of is that of Neena Gupta and Viv Richards.

A Whirlwind Romance

It was during the 1966–1967 West Indies cricket tour of India that the then captain of their team, Sobers, met Mahendru at a party. It is said that the two bonded over their love for dancing and sharp humour. Love blossomed during the two-month tour, and then came a public proposal. Sobers reportedly put a ring on Mahendru’s finger at a Mumbai party, which sent the newspapers and magazines of that time into a tizzy. It was the talk of the town, without the intervention of the paparazzi and Instagram Reels, which are commonplace now.