CHENNAI: His bowling was poetry. It had a rhythm, deep meaning and of all, it was beautiful. Bishen Singh Bedi transformed a craft into an art form.
As the World Cup match between Pakistan and Afghanistan was going on at the Chepauk the news of the demise of former India captain and legendary spinner filtered in.
Bedi died at the age of 77 on Monday. It is understood that Bedi was down with ailing health over the last two years. He is survived by his wife Anju and four children.
The famed quartet legacy is part of Indian cricket folklore. The famous spin quartet comprising EAS Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, and BS Chandrasekhar tormented batters all over the world. Sunil Gavaskar in his book Idols aptly described Bedi: “Floats like a butterfly and stings like a bee''.
Bedi, a veteran of 67 Tests in a 12-year-career spanning between 1967 and 1979, was one of India's most celebrated cricketer. He picked up 266 wickets with 14 five-wicket hauls. He also took seven wickets in 10 One Day Internationals.
Bedi also enjoyed huge success in first-class cricket as well, finishing with 1,560 wickets playing for various teams including Delhi and Punjab and Northamptonshire in England. Bedi also led India to six Test wins including in the West Indies and Australia.
Bedi is best remembered as a leader who succeeded Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi as captain of the India team in 1976 and led the team to win against the formidable West Indies at Port of Spain. That match is part of India’s cricketing history books. India team had to chase a then-record 406 runs in the fourth innings, but under his captaincy, they pulled off a miraculous win. He also took seven wickets in 10 ODIs.
Former India wicketkeeper and Tamil Nadu captain Bharath Reddy, who was the lone wicketkeeper in India's Test tour of England in 1979 and one that happened to be Bedi's last series was shocked to hear the sad demise of the Sardar.
“Bedi was a great cricketer and one of the finest spinners the game has seen. I am shocked to hear the news of his demise,” said Reddy. He fondly remembers the time he spent with Bedi on that tour.
“He (Bedi) was not only a great bowler but also a nice man. He was my roommate in 1979. I have fond memories of that tour,” recollected Bharath Reddy.
Sunil Gavaskar while speaking about great players once said that till the arrival of Wasim Akram, he considered BS Bedi as the best left-arm bowler he had seen. Reddy too insists that Bedi was a different bowler and in a class of his own.
“Bedi was a very good bowler. He made the ball drift in the air and very classy action. He was a master flight because of that inimitable run up and action,'' opined Reddy.
Reddy kept wickets to both Bedi and Venkataraghavan at the international level and in South Zone matches he kept wickets to the likes of Prasanna and Chandrasekhar.
''All the four spinners were great and unplayable on a given day. As a wicketkeeper one must always be on the toes. Bishen was like Prasanna, both gave the ball a lot of air and deceived the batters with the flight. Chandra and Venkat bowled flat and deceived the batters with their accuracy and variations,'' explained Bharath Reddy.
In fact, the BCCI posted their condolence on 'X': ''The BCCI mourns the sad demise of former India Test Captain and legendary spinner, Bishan Singh Bedi. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and fans in these tough times. May his soul rest in peace."
Bedi was awarded the Padma Shri in 1970, he also went on to captain India in 22 Tests and played in India's first-ever ODI against East Africa in 1975 where he bowled 12 overs eight maidens, gave away six runs and picked one wicket. Bedi was a coach of India cricket and was known to be a disciplinarian.
“He was a tough taskmaster when he was an India coach. He was a hard-working person and frank in his views. He was liked by many, but disliked by some but he went about his task in life,” said Reddy insisting that one can never forget Bedi's fluent action and that deceptive arm ball.