Last year in the Indian Premier League, Rishabh Pant made history. He was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for a whopping 27 crore rupees in the November auction. That made him the most expensive player in the tournament’s history.
Sunil Gavaskar, while complimenting Farokh Engineer, noted that the former India wicketkeeper-batter would have fetched a comparable price had he been playing in the IPL. Gavaskar made this comment while commentating on the India vs. England 4th Test at Old Trafford, Manchester. According to Sportskeeda, Gavaskar said on Sony Sports, How much did Rishabh Pant go for (in the IPL auction)? I think he’d go for something similar.
On Wednesday, Farokh Engineer and Clive Lloyd, the famous West Indies captain, were honored by Lancashire County Cricket Club. Stands were named after them at Old Trafford Stadium on the first day of the fourth Test between India and England.
Engineer played for Lancashire from 1968 to 1976. Over 175 matches, he scored 5,942 runs, took 429 catches, and made 35 stumpings. His presence greatly benefitted the club. After a 15-year dry spell, they won the Gillette Cup four times between 1970 and 1975. Although he has deep to Indian cricket, including memorable games at Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium, Engineer doesn’t have a stand named after him there, which is interesting.
Lloyd, who captained his team to two World Cup victories, became an overseas player for Lancashire in the early 1970s. Lloyd’s connection with the club spanned two decades and was transformative. He was extremely important in the reshaping of Lancashire’s cricketing fortunes. This action immortalizes the help that both Engineer and Lloyd gave to the county, celebrating what they did for English domestic cricket.
Engineer, who is now 87, has lived in Manchester since he retired. Pant is a very important part of the Indian cricket Test team, and he has also done well in the IPL.