Farokh Engineer

Farokh Maneksha Engineer, a former Indian cricketer, was born on 25 February 1938 in Mumbai, India. He was an aggressive batsman. His father’s name is Maneksha, and he was a doctor, while his mother, Minnie, was a housewife. He did his schooling at the Don Bosco High School in Matunga and later studied at Poddar College. Farokh aspired to become a pilot; ever since his childhood, he was passionate about flying, but his mother was against this decision. Hence he focused on cricket. Farokh’s inspiration to play cricket came from his father, who played Tennis and was also a club cricketer. His father made him join the Dadar Parsi Colony Sporting Club, where Farokh learned the basics of cricket from the seniors. He was skilled in wicket-keeping, so he became a regular member of the club.

Farokh lived a simple life. He attended his college in the morning, and in the afternoon, he used to go to the Cricket Club of India. In December 1958, Farokh played his debut match for the Combined Universities side against West Indies. In 1967-68, he also played an vital role in India's first-ever Test series victory in New Zealand. Farokh made more than 300 runs in that series. He played 46 Tests for India, and he played first-class cricket for Bombay in India from 1959 to 1975 and for Lancashire in England from 1968 to 1976. After retiring from the cricket world, Farokh started living in Lancashire. He married a Lancastrian named Julie and has four children. The last test he played was on 23 January 1975 against West Indies.