Name:

Engineer, Farokh Maneksha

Date of Birth:

25 Feb 1938

Gender:

Men

Place of Birth:

Bombay, Bombay Province, British India

Career:

Test: 1961 - 1975
ODI: 1974 - 1975

Teams:

Lancashire (Regional)
India (Country)

1965: Pataudi leads Indian series win over New Zealand.

Farokh Engineer: Dynamic batsman and keeper

Farokh Engineer (born 25 February 1938, Bombay/Mumbai) was one of India’s most flamboyant former wicketkeeper-batsmen.

Educated at Don Bosco High School and Podar College, he emerged from Bombay’s strong domestic circuit in the late 1950s. A right-handed attacking batsman and agile gloveman, he quickly gained a reputation for his confidence, sharp reflexes behind the stumps and entertaining strokeplay in front of them.

Engineer represented India in 46 Test matches between 1961 and 1975, scoring 2,611 runs at an average just under 32, including two centuries and 16 fifties. He was part of the historic Indian side that achieved its first Test series victories in the West Indies and England in 1971.

At first-class level he enjoyed enormous success with Bombay and later with Lancashire in English county cricket, where he became a crowd favourite and one of the most recognisable overseas professionals of his era.

Awarded the Padma Shri in 1973, Engineer was among the first Indian cricketers to secure major commercial endorsements, earning the nickname “the Brylcreem Boy.”

After retirement he remained closely associated with the game through commentary and public appearances. Charismatic and outspoken, he is widely regarded as one of the pioneers who helped redefine the role of the wicketkeeper-batsman in Indian cricket.