'Hope matches last for 5 days...' - Farokh Engineer drops cheeky remark on IND vs ENG Tests

As the India vs England Test series is all set to get underway from January 25 in Hyderabad, former India cricketer Farokh Engineer wants the matches to last for 5 days. Engineer received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the Naman Awards 2024, which is the annual award event of the BCCI to honor the achievements of the Indian cricketers.

While speaking after receiving the prestigious awards, Farokh Engineer revealed that it was an honor to get a standing ovation from one of the finest Indian cricket teams. Engineer hailed Indian captain Rohit Sharma and stated that the team has done well under his leadership. Engineer heaped praise on former Indian head coach Ravi Shastri and current coach Rahul Dravid.

Farokh Engineer said that Ravi Shastri did a great job as the coach of the Indian team and Rahul Dravid is continuing the great work. At the end of his speech, Engineer made a cheeky remark at England and stated that he wanted the match to last for 5 days unless the match was in India’s favor.

Farokh Engineer’s cheeky jibe at England

Farokh Engineer said, “It is an honour to get a standing ovation from the finest Indian team that has ever been. Collectively, Rohit and the boys have done exceptionally well. Ravi Shastri did a great job and Rahul (Dravid) has carried on the good work. You are just so strong in every department. I am sure every team will fear you all and should fear you all. Bazball or not. I don’t know if Brendon (McCullum) is here or not. I hope the matches last for five days unless it is in India’s favour of course.”

Farokh Engineer was one of the best wicketkeepers in the history of Indian cricket. Engineer’s major wicket-keeping career was spent with the legendary Indian spin quartet of Bishan Singh Bedi, Erapalli Prasanna, Bhaghwath Chandrashekar, and Srinivas Venkataraghvan.

Farokh Engineer played a total of 46 Test matches for India and scored 2611 runs with two centuries and 16 half-centuries. His most memorable knock came against West Indies in 1964-65 when he scored 94 runs ahead of Lunch against a lethal West Indies pace attack of Wes Hall, Charles Griffith, Gary Sobers, and spinner Richard Gibbs.

Getting back to the IND vs ENG Test series is very important from the perspective of the World Test Championship. India are currently ranked second in the WTC standings and will be aiming to win the series and add the necessary points to the points table.

England on the other hand have arrived in India after wrapping up their training session in Abu Dhabi. England have been playing Test cricket pretty differently since Ben Stokes became the team captain and Brendon McCullum became the head coach of the Test side.

England’s ‘bazball’ tactics, which are very much inspired by Brendon McCullum’s playing style and mindset have brought a lot of entertainment to Test cricket. England are the only side to defeat India in India in a Test series in the last 12 years and will look forward to repeating the same heroics in 2024. However, the last two tours have been eye-openers for England, and India are pretty much favorites to win the series.