Solly Adam and Sachin Tendulkar, the bond that endures, as guardian angel prepares for big day at Yorkshire CCC

In the case of Solly Adam, a Yorkshire cricket legend, the praise and the plaudits speak for themselves.

Javed Miandad, the great Pakistan batsman: “Solly has played the role of a guardian angel for countless cricketers over the past five decades in England.”

VVS Laxman, the Indian maestro: “I am hugely indebted to Solly, a father figure who nurtured me into a mature cricketer.”

Sunil Gavaskar, one of the greatest opening batsmen the game has known: “For hundreds of Indian and Pakistani cricketers coming to England to try and play in the leagues, be it the Yorkshire league or the Lancashire league, Solly’s house was almost the first visit on arrival in England.”

Farokh Engineer, the virtuoso Indian wicketkeeper: “Solly is a legend, and has been an inspiration for several legends.”

The tributes - and there are plenty more where those came from - appear in a biography of the man in question, written by Vara Vantapati, which will be officially launched at Headingley cricket ground on Monday evening.

It will be no ordinary book launch; Mushtaq Mohammad, the former Pakistan captain, is among those set to travel from far and wide to offer their support, while Colin Graves, the Yorkshire chair, is among several special guests and will pay tribute on the club’s behalf.

For Yorkshire’s indebtedness is lasting to a man without whose intervention Sachin Tendulkar would not have played for the club in 1992, thereby making history as its first overseas player after it finally abandoned the old birthright tradition.

It was Solly who recommended Tendulkar to the Yorkshire committee, Solly with whom the then 19-year-old stayed for much of that season, one on which he has always looked back with the utmost fondness.

“Sachin stayed at my place; it was one of the best times he ever had, and he learned a hell of a lot that summer,” said Solly.

“Yorkshire actually did give him a house, very close to my house, but he was hardly there because he was always staying with us.

“He respected me as a father, and my wife as a mother, and my family was his own family, so he was unbelievable.

“One thing I remember is that he was just so dedicated; he used to play for Yorkshire, finish six o’clock, and then he used to come and practice with us down at Spen Victoria, put a pound on each stump and say that whoever got him out could take the pound - and of course no one ever got him out.”

The signing came about when Solly, who was on Yorkshire’s ethnic minority board at the time, and a well-known figure in and around the club, suggested a possible solution when the man who was originally Yorkshire’s first overseas recruit, the Australian fast bowler Craig McDermott, fell injured and had to withdraw.

“I suggested that they went for this young boy, Tendulkar, who was playing in Australia at the time, and had just got a century in one of the Tests.

“There was some reluctance from the old committee, but I stuck to my guns and I also wanted to help get rid of the perception on Yorkshire that they were prejudiced when it came to bringing in people from the outside, and so on.

“Anyway, I rang Tendulkar and he said, ‘Solly, I’m so busy, I’m only 19 years old, I’m playing out here in Australia, I’m also playing domestic cricket, and you want me to come and play for Yorkshire?’, but I said, ‘Listen, this will open the door for good - not just for you, or any Asian, but for any West Indian, Bangladeshi, anyone coming to Yorkshire cricket club.’

“He was like, yes and no, yes and no, but Sunny (Gavaskar) was in Australia at the time, I told him the whole story and he helped to persuade him, then Chris Hassell (the former chief executive) went to India and signed him.”

Due to other commitments, Tendulkar cannot be present on Monday, although he will be at the Indian launch of the book in November, along with Gavaskar, which will be held during the Mumbai Test between India and New Zealand.

Tendulkar, though, is just one of more than 400 players helped/mentored/nurtured by Solly over the years, mostly South Asian, many of whom were, or went on to become, international stars, such as VVS Laxman, Vinod Kambli and Wasim Jaffer, to name but a few.

Solly was also responsible for Abdul Qadir’s brief stint at Hanging Heaton CC, delivering progress reports back to Imran Khan, who had designs on the leg-spinner for the Pakistan Test side.

Now 78, Solly was a very fine cricketer himself, a left-arm spinner who played Minor Counties for Cumberland, and who captained Batley and then Spen Victoria with great success. He also helped a lot of local Yorkshire cricketers such as pace bowler Paul Jarvis, who went on to play nine Tests and 16 one-day internationals.

Now a man who arrived in this country from his native India in 1963 with £1 in his pocket has achieved something that no amount of money can buy - the respect of his fellows.

“I must say a big thank-you to Vara, who has done a wonderful job writing the book, and also to Colin Graves, for creating this history for an Asian bloke, an ordinary person who used to work as a motor mechanic, to launch the book at Headingley cricket ground - I’m very grateful to them.”

A man who has done so much for others receiving the recognition he so richly deserves. Well played, Solly.

For details of how to purchase Solly Adam: Beyond Boundaries by Vara Vantapati, visit sollyadam.com