Bishan Singh Bedi’s cricketing accolades were known to all…but it was his off-field personality that often ruffled feathers of many in the cricket fraternity. However, his infinite wisdom and the zest and passion for the game, is something even his naysayers find it hard to beat.

Born on September 25, 1946, Bedi grew up playing cricket in the narrow bylanes of Amritsar, and rose to become one of the strongest pillars of India’s famous spin quartet comprising Srinivas Venkatraghavan, Erapalli Prasanna and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar.

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His obit would be incomplete without mentioning the legendary claps for every six hit off his bowling! Blessed with a graceful and artistic bowling style, known for its variations in flight and spin, Bedi achieved cult status in the Indian cricket fraternity, for his on-field accolades.

Bedi’s relevance in Indian cricket can be measured from the fact that in 2008, Wisden Cricketers Almanack named Bedi as one of the five best cricketers to have never won the “Wisden Cricketer of the Year” Award.

A trusted lieutenant of the legendary Masoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Bedi went on to captain Kapil Dev on his debut, and made lasting memories as a cricketer during his 13-year career in international cricket from 1966 to 1979.

Bedi’s captaincy had the influence of Pataudi, often ready to give it back to the opponents on their face. While his captaincy stint started off in New Zealand, it was during the tour of the West Indies in 1976, when Bedi’s batting line-up was at the receiving end of the fury from the fearsome quicks. Bedi declared the second innings in protest after half of his batting unit was either injured or in the hospital facing the Windies pace battery.

During India’s tour of Down Under in 1977-78, the Indian team, captained by Bedi came up with one of the grittiest performances in the five-match Test series. Even though the results were 3-2 in favour of the Bob Simpson-led Kangaroos, Bedi’s team won accolades after pulling off stunning victories in the third and fourth Tests — in Melbourne and Sydney, respectively.

His final moment of captaincy that earned him accolades and criticism from quarters, and also changed the rules of the game forever, came in the deciding ODI of the three-match series against Pakistan in Sahiwal in 1978 when he conceded the match to Pakistan with India needing 23 runs for a win. Bedi accused the umpires of being biased for failing to call the short-pitched balls as wides. His brave act changed the rules of the game forever, with the incident putting an end to having the umpires from the host nation in ODIs.

Bedi also played a key role in India’s first ODI win. His economical bowling stats of 12-8-6-1 restricted East Africa to 120 in a 1975 World Cup fixture. Bedi was one of India’s most successful bowlers to have dazzled in County cricket in England. He featured for Northamptonshire in 102 outings, between 1972 and 1977, and bagged 434 wickets for the Northants, the most by an Indian in County cricket circuit.

Gavaskar a destructive influence on Indian cricket: Bedi

Bedi’s playing days ended when little master Sunil Gavaskar took over as full-time captain in 1979. After hanging his boots, Bedi went on to become a selector, during which Gavaskar was first sacked and then reinstated as captain, before the former India opener eventually resigned from the post in 1985.

In 2007, Bedi had termed Gavaskar as a “destructive influence” on Indian cricket!

“Cricket circles had immense and blind respect for him (as a cricketer) and he successfully used this to ensure that board officials remained in awe of him,” Bedi had once told the Outlook magazine.

“He wants the glamour, the position, and if there are any financial gains, so much the better … but he does not want any accountability. He’s always liked power without accountability. I had a lot of time for his batting but never as a thought leader,” added Bedi.

“You tell me what his contribution has been. He is destructive, there is nothing positive.”

However, years later, in a book titled ‘Sardar of Spin’, published to mark Bedi’s 75th birthday in 2021, Gavaskar described Bedi as the best left-arm spinner to have played the game. “Until Wasim Akram came on the scene, Bishan Singh Bedi was the best left-hand bowler I had seen. I guess, one can now say that Bishan Singh Bedi is the best left-arm spinner, and Wasim Akram, the best left-hand pacer,” he wrote.

While the two champion cricketers never got along well, they had immense respect for each other’s cricketing abilities, so much so that Bedi named his first-born son from his first wife from Australia, Gavasinder Singh.

Making headlines as coach

Bedi’s first stint as a manager of the Indian cricket team came in the early 1980’s when he was named on an ad-hoc basis. In 1990, when the Indian board decided to name a full time coach, Bedi came on board to mentor the Mohammed Azharuddin-led young side. Bedi made instant headlines in his role, when he threatened that he could get the entire squad thrown in the Pacific Ocean after failing to chase a modest total against Australia in a tri-series game on that tour.

As the manager/coach, Bedi primary focus was on players’ fitness sessions, and undertook what is still considered one of the best training camps before the England tour. However, on that tour, Bedi came out in the open criticising Azhar’s decision to put the home team bat at Lord’s in the first Test.

While the Lord’s Test of 1990 is famous for the then England captain Graham Gooch’s 333, for India it was a lost cause with Azhar and Bedi eventually falling out, with the Hyderabadi later saying that the team did not need any coach or cricket manager.

Successful domestic cricket stints

Bedi served as coach of Punjab, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir Ranji sides. He was most successful with Punjab as he guided the side to their only Ranji Trophy win in 1992-93. For his outspoken nature, Bedi often had run-ins with many state associations.

Not only associations, Bedi went on to criticise Sri Lankan off-spin wizard Muttiah Muralitharan and former India offie Harbhajan Singh. Bedi compared Murali with a javelin thrower, saying all his wickets were run-outs, riling the Sri Lankan up, and threatening legal action, which he never did. A fan of legal bowling action, Bedi also did not spare Harbhajan, whose action also came under the scanner.

IPL is not cricket

Bedi was one of the harshest critics of the cash-rich Indian Premier League (IPL), and went on to question if it was really the sport in its purest form. An old-school cricketer, Bedi believed in the quiet grace of the game which he failed to find in the razzmatazz of brash T20 antics.

“It’s just not cricket,” he once said. “Cricket isn’t a sport that is played with wood and leather. It’s a reflection of the uprightness and honesty of the time. You don’t play cricket, you live it. That is what the phrase (it’s just not cricket) refers to — something that is just plain wrong or not done. You never say, it’s not football or hockey or basketball,” he would add.

“Test matches are a legacy for me. But we are not interested in preserving our own legacy. It feels sad when our legacy is ruined. IPL is the Vidya Balan of Indian cricket – entertainment, entertainment, entertainment,” the outspoken Bedi had once famously said.

Not just a wizard of his craft of left-arm slow bowling, Bedi possessed uncanny skills of extracting the best from his players. Leading India in 22 Test matches, he earned admiration for his astute captaincy, and went on to mentor players like Maninder Singh and Murali Kartik, who went on to represent India later on. Former English spinner Monty Panesar was also one of Bedi’s proteges.