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.
