Sporting icons : Bishen Singh Bedi : His career achievements & video

 

Bishan Singh Bedi is a former Indian cricketer who had a successful career as a left-arm orthodox spinner. Bedi was born in Amritsar in Punjab India on 25th September 1946 . Making his test debut for India in 1966 , Bedi went in to play for 13 years in international cricket . His larger than life personality made him an intriguing person and he was articulate and extremely straight forward . As a result he had his share of controversies. 

Bedi was forthright and outspoken throughout his playing career, and inevitably courted controversies: objecting to the use of Vaseline by England bowler John Lever in 1976-7, declaring India's second innings at Kingston in protest against intimidatory bowling by the West Indians in 1976 and, famously, threatening to dump the Indian cricket team in the sea in 1990, when he was the coach

Bedi passed away on 23rd October 2023 at the age of 77 . 

Here are some of his notable achievements:

International Career:

   - Bedi played for the Indian cricket team from 1966 to 1979.  He made his test debut in 1966 vs the mighty  West Indies at Eden Gardens, Kolkata 

   - He was known for his impeccable spin bowling, accuracy, and flighted deliveries and the loop . His skill levels were awesome . 

Test Matches:

   - Bedi played 67 Test matches for India, taking 266 wickets at an average of 28.71. He had 14 five wicket hauls and one 10 wicket haul at WACA Perth .

Bedi took 1560 wickets in 370 first class matches at 21 average and took Delhi to two successive Ranji trophy titles in 1977-78 & and 1978-79 against formidable Karnataka & Mumbai in successive years . 

Winning overseas test series  against the mighty West Indies and England in the seventies (1971)  was a first of its kind when sport was not a priority for the country. Never afraid of flighting the ball, bowling for hours non-stop, perfect member of the Spin Quartet of Bedi, Prasanna, Chandrashekhar and Venkataraghavan, ruled the cricketing world and the hearts of Indian cricket fans  during the seventies.

   - He was the captain of the Indian cricket team in 22 Test matches winning 6 tests of which 3 in overseas .  His most memorable test win as captain was India's world record 4th innings run chase of 406 vs the formidable West Indies at Port of Spain . 

   - He was one of the famed quartet of Indian spinners in the 1970s, along with Erapalli Prasanna, S. Venkataraghavan, and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar.

Wisden Cricketer of the Year:

   - In 1970, Bedi was named one of the Wisden Cricketers of the Year, a prestigious accolade in the cricketing world.

Contribution to Indian Cricket:

   - Bedi played a significant role in promoting spin bowling in India.

   - He continued to be involved in cricket as a coach and commentator after retiring from international cricket.

Bishan Singh Bedi is considered one of the legends of Indian cricket and a key figure in the history of spin bowling in the country.

In the below video watch Bedi's brilliant spell of bowling at Brisbane vs Australia in the highly contested 1977-78 test series