Picture Credit: Twitter
The former Indian captain Bishan Singh Bedi passed away at the age of 77 after a prolonged illness, on Monday, October 23. Hailed as one of the greatest left-arm spinner in the history of cricket, Bishan Singh Bedi was the part of the legendary Indian spin bowling quartet from the 1970s, which included the likes of Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, Erapalli Prasanna, and Srinivas Venkataraghavan.
Bishan Singh Bedi played 67 Test matches for India, spanning from 1967 to 1979, picking up 267 wickets at an average of 28.71 and economy of 2.14, with a best performance of 7-98. He played just 10 ODIs for the country in his brief international career in the shortest format at that time, picking up seven wickets.
The Sardar of Spin was also part of the Indian cricket team, who won their first ODI match in cricket history, against East Africa during the ICC Cricket World Cup in 1975 by 10 wickets. He registered figures of 12-8-6-1 in this epic match, to help skittle out the opposition for a paltry score of 120.
After the news of Bishan Singh Bedi’s passing, the cricket fraternity stood together to pay tribute to the great man.
Some of the top reactions on the microblogging platform, X, are as under:
Apart from his epic international career, Bishan Singh Bedi played for Delhi in domestic cricket, winning two Ranji Trophy titles with them in 1979 and 1980. He also managed Team India briefly in the 1990s during their tours to New Zealand and England.
Bedi, who is survived by his wife Anju, son Angad, and daughter Neha, also played a pivotal role in bringing up the next generation of Indian cricketers, through coaching and mentorship. During his sporting journey, he was a commentator and a pundit in cricket too.
