Bishan Singh Bedi is outspoken, courageous and pugnacious. When he was captain of the Indian team, he proved to be a great leader. Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi had a great influence upon his approach to the game. Moreover, he was not a pawn in the hands of the BCCI. He called a spade a spade and crossed swords even with political heavyweights like Arun Jaitley. Throughout his career he carried out a fearless crusade against fraud and deceit in cricket. He continues to do so even now on the eve of his 77th birthday which is on September 25th.
He once said that the corruption in Delhi cricket took place because Jaitley allowed it. When a statue of Jaitley was put up at the Feroz Shah Kotla stadium, Bedi demanded that his own name should be removed from a stand within the stadium that was named after him. Bedi did not wish to be associated with Jaitley in any way. How many cricketers have the guts to do that?
But along with all that fighting spirit, the legendary left arm spinner also has a terrific sense of humour. His teammates had to frequently bear the brunt of his jokes and one liners.
He could never finish his letters
On one occasion he complained to a fellow player that whenever he was on a cricket tour, he could never finish the letters that he wanted to write to his mother. “Every time I sit down to write a letter, I find that by the time I have written Dear Mother, all the top Indian batsmen have got out. And I have to go and bat.” The joke was targeted at the Indian batting line up which was well known for sudden collapses in those days.
Another joke was aimed at his Northamptonshire county teammate David Steele who used to play for that county and who also represented England in Test matches. In fact Steele often found himself at the receiving end of jokes not only from Bedi but by others too.
Steele who is now 81 years old made his debut for England at the age of 32. But he had prematurely graying hair and looked older than he really was. In his very first Test match, when he walked out to face Dennis Lillee, the Aussie wicketkeeper Rodney Marsh shouted across the pitch to the bowler: “Look who is here Dennis. Your Grandaddy has come to give you a spanking. Did you do anything naughty?”
But despite all the barbs directed at him, Steele batted well against the rampaging Aussies. His ability to tackle very hostile fast bowling, which other batsmen had struggled to cope with, and his attacking hook shots raised morale among his teammates as well as the English fans.
Why Bedi nicknamed his teammate “Crime”?
Steele was also known for his prudence when spending money. If he went out with a bunch of his teammates, it was the latter who would end up paying for the expenses. When Bedi was playing with him in the Northamptonshire county team, Bedi nicknamed him “Crime”. When somebody asked him why he had chosen the nickname of Crime for his teammate, Bedi replied: “Haven’t you heard of the saying – Crime Doesn’t Pay? David never pays.”
However, Bedi himself was rarely the target of jokes. Fellow cricketers were in awe of his bowling abilities. The famous England spin bowler Jim Laker once remarked that his idea of heaven was watching Ray Lindwall (the Australian fast bowler) bowling at one end with Bishen Bedi at the other.
Don Bradman said about Bedi: “I am ever ready to acknowledge skill in a cricketer. Particularly when it is associated with sportsmanship of the highest calibre as in the case of Bishen Bedi of India.”
These words make all Indians proud of the man known as the Sardar of Spin.
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