Gujarat : Sunil Gavaskar visits Navsari to attend housewarming of Solly Adam 

Navsari : Sunil Gavaskar, the legendary Indian cricketer, visited the small village of Simalak in Jalalpore taluka, Navsari district in Gujarat to attend the housewarming ceremony of former cricketer from Yorkshire Suleiman Adam aka Solly Adam.

Adam, a native of Simalak village, is a former cricketer and businessman who has helped bring many Indian and Pakistani cricketers to play league cricket in England. He has been settled in the UK for many years and has come into contact with cricketers from all over the world due to his passion for the sport.

Gavaskar and Adam have been friends since 1971, and their friendship has remained strong over the years. Adam recently demolished his ancestral house in Simalak village and built a new one. He invited Gavaskar to attend the housewarming ceremony, but Gavaskar was unable to make it due to the Cricket World Cup.

However, Gavaskar kept his promise and visited Adam’s house in Navsari on Monday. He arrived in Surat from Bengaluru and then took a flight to Navsari. Upon arrival, he was welcomed by Adam and his family.

Gavaskar is a big fan of Gujarati language and culture. He expressed his love for the language by telling Adam that he knew Gujarati. He also enjoyed a taste of Gujarati cuisine, eating a simple meal of curry khichdi, brinjal-potato salad, rotli, raitu and sweet rice.

Before leaving for Mumbai, Gavaskar paid a small visit to his cricket fans in the village. He signed autographs for the kids and created lifelong memories for them.

Adam played a vital role in helping Sachin Tendulkar become the first non-Yorkshireman to play for the Yorkshire county cricket club. Tendulkar stayed with Adam in the UK for four months in the early years of his cricketing career.

When there was no entry for foreign cricketers in England’s Yorkshire club, Solly’s efforts led to Sachin Tendulkar being signed to play cricket for the first time.

Kapil Dev, Sunil Gavaskar, Brijesh Patel, late Indian cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi, Ashok Mankad, VVS Laxman, Vinod Kambli as well as many famous cricketers from Pakistan and other countries of the world have stayed at Soli Adam’s house and had meals cooked by his wife Maryam Adam.