Indian cricketing legend Bishan Bedi dies aged 77

Bishan Bedi has passed away in Delhi aged 77 after battling long-term illnesses for the past couple of years.

Bedi had been unwell for over two years, undergoing multiple surgeries in an attempt to arrest his symptoms.

Bedi was a legend of Indian cricket, playing 67 tests for his country and taking 266 wickets at 28.71 with his left-arm orthodox bowling.

22 out of his 67 tests were spent as captain of the Indian test side, a rare achievement for a bowler.

Never one to shy away from speaking his mind, Bedi was involved in some cricketing controversies during his career, including accusing Englishman John Lever of using Vaseline to help shine the ball and calling out aggressive bowling from the West Indies that caused injuries to four Indian batters.

Bedi has the infamous stature of being the first captain in international cricket to concede a match. Needing on 23 to win against Pakistan, Bedi called his batters in as a protest against Sarfraz Nawaz bowling bouncer after bouncer with none being called wide.

Bedi was known for his pink or blue patka and his beautifully rhythmic action, producing drift and spin as well as clever variations.

Ramachandra Guha, an Indian historian wrote of Bedi, “Bedi flighted the ball higher than any bowler in international cricket; if he could challenge quick-footed batsmen thus, it was only because his command was so complete that he would make the ball descend far quicker than it went up”, in his book A Corner of a Foreign Field.

Legendary English captain, Mike Brearly once wrote, “Of all the slow bowlers of Bedi's time, none forced you to commit yourself later than he did.” Acknowledging the guile Bedi was able to bowl with and the games he played with opposition batters.

Bedi’s guile and accuracy is reflected in this statistic from ESPN Cricinfo, “of the 82 bowlers to have taken at least 200 Test wickets, only three - Lance Gibbs, Richie Benaud and Derek Underwood - have better economy rates than his 2.14.”

Within cricket, few opinions carry more weight than those of Donald Bradman who once said, “Bedi was a real study for the connoisseur and amongst the finest bowlers of his type” – praise doesn’t come much higher than that.

Following his playing career, Bedi went into coaching, including leading the Indian side, where once again his outspoken nature came to the fore. Following a loss to Australia in 1990, Bedi threatened to dump the entire team into the sea on their return journey.

Bedi showed his willingness to speak out once again when he asked for his name to be removed from a stand at a stadium in Delhi following a decision to place a statue of a dead politician from the ruling BJP party within the stadium complex.

Ravichandran Ashwin posted a tribute on X saying, “Sad to hear about the demise of the great Bishen Singh Bedi, apart from being a great cricketer, he was an affable person and went the extra mile to help young cricketers.”

Fearsome West Indian fast bowler, Ian Bishop, also posted a tribute on X. Bishop wrote, “Saddened to hear of the passing of the legendary Bishan Singh Bedi. Many of my predecessors in the Caribbean spoke of his guile and skill as a bowler and competitor in reverential tones.”

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