There are those individuals for whom all superlatives are inadequate. Sir Garfield Sobers (1936-2026) was one of those rare individuals. When the good Lord picked a mound of Barbados soil and breathed life into it, he said, “Thy name is Garfield Sobers. Go and play cricket and bring joy to cricket lovers.” Garry Sobers did just that in a career spanning nearly two decades.He was as Don Bradman had said a five-in-one cricketer. He was completely left-handed: an outstanding batsman; he began as a spin bowler, orthodox left arm and wrist spin; he later became a quick bowler who was nippy with a deceptive bouncer; and he was a great fieldsman anywhere. He excelled in all these various departments of cricket. No other cricketer has done this before or since.He was a great favourite of the Don. During the 1971 Australia vs Rest of the World series Down Under, Sobers was initially getting out often to the young and fiery Dennis Lillee. Before the test match at Melbourne, Bradman told him, “Garry, give me something to remember’’. Sobers went out to devastate Lillee and the entire Australian attack with an innings of 254 which Bradman thought was the best he had seen in Australia.The innings can be seen now on You Tube: it is the most scintillating display of stroke-making. He drove, he cut, he pulled, he hooked, glanced and slashed. Cricket lovers can see that display even today with their hearts in their mouths.Just as another example of his almost unimaginable talent as a batsman, here is Ritchie Benaud recalling one particular forcing shot off the back foot in course of his century in the Brisbane Test in 1960-61, “No man could get his bat down in time to play a defensive shot to this top-spinner on a good length on the middle and off stumps…obviously he hasn’t picked it… he thinks it’s going to spin from the off and I have got him. In fact, he hadn’t picked it as a top-spinner, and he did think it was going to spin from the off. As it skidded off the pitch and made for the off stump he was forced to change his shot completely and, instead of hitting it through mid-wicket where he obviously originally intended, he flashed his wrists and hit between mid-off and myself like a bullet.’’Benaud commented this was a “head-shaking experience.’’ Sobers had the gift to change his shot after the ball had pitched, the sign of a great batsman.I was fortunate to see him on three occasions at the Eden Gardens. On the first occasion when the West Indies came to India in 1958-59 under Gerry Alexander, at Eden Gardens, Rohan Kanhai made 256 (204 on the first day) studded with 34 boundaries, Basil Butcher made 101 and then Sobers appeared and made 109 in no time (he was to write later that on that day he had a tummy upset and was thoroughly dehydrated!).One shot of his is engraved in my mind, young though I was. He was batting at the high court end when Surendra Nath bowled to him a slightly short of length delivery and Sobers played a short arm pull. The ball travelled about waist high for a six.The sheer power was incredible. The other memory is from his last appearance at Eden Gardens 1966-67. Buddhi Kunderan and M.L. Jaisimha opened the Indian batting. In the very first over from Charlie Griffith, the ball went off (from the outside edge or the back) from Kunderan’s bat. I don’t think anyone knew where the ball had gone. But Sobers from second slip began to run towards third man following the ball which was steeple high. He nearly pulled off an unbelievable catch with his back to the batsman. I was later to ask Jaisimha about this. And he said, “I didn’t know where the ball was. I just told Buddhi run, this man has taken off.’’Tiger Pataudi had this story of match between Nottinghamshire and Sussex which the former could have won with ease and time to spare. Sobers came out and went for the bowling to win the match much before tea time. Trooping out, Tiger asked Sobers, “What was the great hurry?’’ Smiling, Sobers said, I just remembered that I had a bet on a horse at the Newbury races and I wanted to be there.’’ He could do as he willed.He was a born athlete and could be excellent in any position. But at short fine leg when Lance Gibbs was bowling, he held catches that seemed impossible.There is another side to Sobers which is not often remembered. He was at the wheel when an accident killed his closest friend Collie Smith. In his memoirs, Sobers wrote, “They call me a great all rounder. Collie was greater than I. When I play, I don’t play alone, Collie plays with me.’’Without even a hint of exaggeration it can be said, there has never been a cricketer like him. I doubt if there will be another in the future. He was cricket personified.Rudrangshu Mukherjee is the Chancellor and Professor of History at Ashoka University. Views expressed are personal.