LAHORE: While paying homage to great Sir Garry Sobers, former Pakistan captains Intikhab Alam and Zaheer Abbas recalled their association with the iconic West Indies all-rounder who passed away on Friday.

Talking to Dawn, Intikhab recalled that his first meeting with Sobers came during an English county match in which the leg-spinning all-rounder dismissed the left-handed batting legend with his very first delivery.

“From that day onwards we became very close friends. Later, I also had the honour of playing under his captaincy for the Rest of the World XI against Australia,” Intikhab reminisced.

Recalling one memorable incident, Intikhab said that Sobers was dismissed cheaply by Australian fast bowling great Dennis Lillee in one of the matches while leading Rest of the World XI, following which renowned cricketer-turned-commentator Richie Benaud wrote about the left-hander’s struggle against paceman.

“I had never seen Sobers so quiet after Benaud’s article. I asked him, ‘Are you OK?’ but he did not reply. Instead, his bat answered the criticism in the next innings in which he scored a magnificent 254, mauling all bowlers including Lillee,” Intikhab said.

Meanwhile, Zaheer described Sobers as the greatest all-rounder he had ever seen.

“Sobers was also a great captain. I had the privilege of playing under his captaincy for the Rest of the World XI against Australia in 1971-72. As captain, he had an exceptional ability to make timely decisions, while as an all-rounder he was simply in a class of his own,” Zaheer told Dawn.

“I feel fortunate that Sobers included me among the seven best batsmen of that era, alongside brothers Ian and Greg Chappell, Barry Richards and Sunil Gavaskar,” Zaheer said.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2026