Bishan Singh Bedi: ‘Sardar of spin’ passes away

Bishan Singh Bedi, one of India’s most influential cricketers of all time, died at 77 on Monday, leaving a legion of fans, admirers and students in mourning.

Bedi bowled with the most beautiful action of any slow left-arm spinner in the game with the precision of a surgeon. He led various teams with the kind of progressive thinking that was far ahead of his time. He fought for causes he believed in with steadfastness and integrity, taking on even the most powerful people around if it meant righting a wrong. And he did all this while calling a spade a bloody shovel.

Youngsters of today may not realise just how much of a giant Bedi was. Between 1967 and 1979 Bedi played 67 Tests and 10 ODIs. When he retired, Bedi was India’s leading wicket-taker with 266 scalps at an average of 28.71.

Bedi was part of India’s famed and feared spin quartet that also included Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and S Venkataraghavan. Of the four, Bedi was the purists’ delight. His run-up, action and delivery stride were things of beauty. He operated with an economy of movement that was matched only by poise and balance.

Bedi was a master of setting up batsmen. Opponents remarked that he would bowl six successive deliveries that looked identical, but each one was building up to the one that would draw the fatal error. Subtle variations were the name of the game for Bedi, who never tried anything extravagant simply because he did not need to.When he was not picking up wickets Bedi was tying batsmen up in knots anyway. Of all bowlers who have taken 200 or more Test wickets, only three have a better economy rate than Bedi’s 2.14.Bedi’s cerebral nature also made him an ideal captaincy candidate, a rarity among bowlers. In the 22 Tests that Bedi led India, the most storied one was the historic chase of 403 in Port of Spain, Trinidad in 1975. That record stood till as recently as 2003.

But, Bedi also rubbed a fair few people the wrong way in his time as captain. At Sabina Park in Kingston, in 1976, Bedi declared the innings on 306 for 6 as a protest against what he believed was intimidating bowling. Then, in Sahiwal in Pakistan two years later, Bedi conceded an ODI because he thought that Sarfaraz Nawaz was using the bouncer excessively. In 1997, in Chennai, Bedi objected to John Lever using vaseline on his brow, suggesting that the bowler was using the substance to alter the condition of the ball. Bedi also led Delhi in four Range Trophy finals, winning two of those encounters. In 1978-79, Delhi got the better of a strong Karnataka team that boasted Gundappa Vishwanath and the very next year they handed Sunil Gavaskar’s Mumbai a rare defeat.

Bedi also had tremendous success with Northamptonshire in the County Championship in England where he picked up 434 first class wickets at 20.89.

After his playing days were done Bedi was never far from the game he loved so dearly. He mentored several Indian cricketers including Maninder Singh, Sunil Joshi and Murali Kartik, all of whom had success at the international stage.

Even in later years, Bedi was never far from the headlines. When the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium in Delhi was renamed the Arun Jaitley Stadium, Bedi wrote to the local authorities asking them to cancel his membership to the Delhi and District Cricket Association. He had been critical of the governing body and this time went as far as demanding that a stand that was named in his honour be renamed.

Bedi had been ailing for the past couple of years and underwent several surgeries. The most recent of these was a knee surgery and it appeared for a time that he was on the mend.

Bedi is survived by his wife Anju, their daughter Neha and son Angad, and son Gavasinder and daughter Gillinder from his earlier marriage to Glenith Miles.

But, his loss will be felt by a much wider audience. As soon as the news of his passing became known, the tributes poured in from cricketers around the world. And you can be sure they will not be stopping any time soon.

 

Reference

Denial of responsibility! My Droll is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
Denial of responsibility! My Droll is an automatic aggregator of Global media. In each content, the hyperlink to the primary source is specified. All trademarks belong to their rightful owners, and all materials to their authors. For any complaint, please reach us at – [email protected]. We will take necessary action within 24 hours.
DMCA compliant image

Leave a Comment