After a protracted illness, Indian cricket legend Bishan Singh Bedi passed away at the age of 77.
Recently, he had undergone a number of surgical procedures while battling age-related ailments.
Considered one of the greatest spin spinners in history, Bedi captained India in 22 of his 67 Tests and amassed 266 wickets.
His final Test was against England at The Oval in 1979. He debuted against the West Indies in 1966.
Bedi also represented Northamptonshire in English county cricket and concluded his tenure with 1,560 first-class wickets, the most of any Indian bowler.
During the 1960s and 1970s, Bedi was an indispensable member of a renowned quartet of India’s most formidable spin bowlers: Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna, and Srinivas Venkataraghavan. Bedi was selected by readers in 2021 to be included in BBC Sport’s definitive India Test XI.
Born in Amritsar, Punjab State, India, Bedi started his cricket career in elementary school. He became the 113th cricketer to represent India in Tests upon reaching the age of twenty.
During his twelve-year career, his finest bowling performance occurred in 1969 in Kolkata (then known as Calcutta) against Australia in a Test match that India lost. He took seven wickets for 98 runs.
Bedi, adorned with his distinctive pink or vibrant blue turban, was the epitome of spin bowling. Bowling came easily to him due to his relaxed approach and effortless motion. The cricket writer H Natarajan characterised the left arm spinner as “silent, deceptive, and lethal; an expert at manipulating flight, pace, loop, and spin without any observable alteration in technique.”
“Bedi launched the ball higher than any bowler in international cricket; if he managed to trouble quick-footed batsmen, it was only because his command was so comprehensive that he caused the ball to descend considerably more quickly than it rose,” wrote Indian cricket historian and author A Corner of a Foreign Field Ramachandra Guha.
Former India wicketkeeper Syed Kirmani, who captained the country in 88 Tests, once remarked that Bedi could “bowl six different deliveries in an over” due to his remarkable variation.
Sir Garry Sobers, one of the finest all-rounders in cricket history and a legend of the West Indies, remarked that Bedi “delightfully removed the burden from the ball.” Mike Brearley, one of England’s best captains, praised his bowling as “beautiful.”
And Sir Donald Bradman, widely regarded as the greatest batter in the history of the sport, said of Bedi, “A veritable study for the connoisseur and one of the finest bowlers of his genre.”
Bedi was also an uncommonly flamboyant cricketer who frequently found himself in controversy.
In 1976, at 97-5, he declared India’s second innings against Clive Lloyd’s West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica, as a protest against the hosts’ intimidating bowling.
West Indian quick bowlers dismissed three India batsmen injured in the match, and Bedi stated that it was not a declaration because there were no fit players to bat. A decade later, West Indies emerged victorious by ten wickets.
In 1977, while touring India, he accused England left-arm fast bowler John Lever of using Vaseline to propel the ball. He claimed partisan umpiring and forfeited a match against Pakistan the following year.
He threatened to send the India team into the sea in 1990, as national coach, following their loss to Australia. In 2002, he accused Muttiah Muralitharan, the spin legend of Sri Lanka, of throwing in a startling attack.
“Should Murali fail to dismiss the ball, then demonstrate the art of bowling,” Bedi said in a Wisden Cricket Asia interview.
He declined Kerry Packer’s lucrative contract to participate in the World Series Cricket, an Australian rebel tournament, in 1978. He subsequently recalled that Packer’s agent had made three substantial offers to him.
Years later, he criticised Indian Premier League player auctions, stating that he “merely did not like players being treated like horses being sold for the highest bid.”
Bedi never held back when it came to criticising cricket board officials at home.
He requested that his name be removed from a stand at the principal cricket stadium in Delhi as a protest against the installation of a statue depicting a deceased politician affiliated with the ruling BJP. Once, without authorization, he appeared on a television programme and demanded increased match fees for his team. “If speaking one’s mind is a crime, then I am guilty several times over,” he stated previously.
Bedi was an exceedingly sociable individual with a flamboyant disposition. His daughter recollected a household characterised by an abundance of food, alcohol, and uncontrollable hilarity. Dog-obsessed, he carried home numerous breeds from kennel clubs during his travels in the United Kingdom.
He was colloquially referred to in India as the “sardar of spin” and possessed a contagious sense of humour.
He once adopted two canines named Charles and Diana from a facility in England before transporting them to India. An official at the London airport questioned him, “Are you removing the mickey from our royalty?” Bedi, impassive, responded, “No! “I am departing with the royal family.”
The wisecrack perfectly encapsulated Bedi in many ways: he was an irreverent person who was, in a sense, a dissident. Moreover, without a doubt, one of the all-time finest cricketers.
SOURCE – (BBC)
