“Knowing Bishan Paaji from close range was the only way to know about the good things of life and cricket. I am often asked who the seniors I admire are. Bishan Paaji tops the list. He never held himself back if he saw injustice. He was fearless. If he took a stand, it was because of certain beliefs and principles that marked his approach.” These were the words penned by India’s best all-rounder Kapil Dev a few years ago.
The famous left arm spinner Bishan Singh Bedi who led India with distinction and took 266 wickets in 67 Test matches, passed away on Monday.
His bowling used to be described by commentators as graceful and beautiful. Above all, it was full of guile, artistry, and mystery for the batsmen. He was an expert at flighting the ball and was capable of making it hold back or hurry forward in a deceptive manner. His action was so relaxed and casual that he could bowl all day without getting tired.
Richards said Bedi is impossible to read
In his autobiography titled Hitting Across The Line, the West Indian batting maestro Sir Vivian Richards has written about the Sardar: “Bedi was impossible to read. I had to face all these spinners (Bedi, Prasanna, Chandra, and Venkat) on my very first visit to India. I wished I was playing against Australia where I would have to face a pace attack. At least I would know what I was doing.” Against Indian spinners of this class, Viv had to face the terror of unknown devils.
Bedi’s best Test bowling was seven for 98 against Australia at Calcutta in 1969–70, and his best match figures were ten for 194 at Perth in 1977–78, against Australia. His best first class bowling was when he took seven wickets for only five runs for Delhi against Jammu and Kashmir at New Delhi 1974–75. His batting was poor but he scored an unbeaten half century once. It was scored against New Zealand in Kanpur in 1976.
Vijay Merchant analyses Bedi’s bowling
The legendary Vijay Merchant who had witnessed Bedi’s game as a radio commentator, has written: “From behind the nets Bedi looked a completely different bowler than from the commentator’s box. He never bowled two balls in one over which were similar. There was extreme variation in spin, flight, direction and speed of the ball.”
“On a good wicket, Bedi rarely flighted the ball. He harassed the batsmen by lowering the trajectory of the ball and directing it on exactly the right spot on the middle or middle-and-leg stump. In this respect he was totally different from my colleague Vinoo Manked who flighted the ball much more,” Merchant has written while analysing Bedi’s bowling.
But Bishan Bedi was not just a great cricketer. He was an outspoken man when he saw any malpractice in Indian cricket. In a book titled Sardar Of Spin, the former BJP member of parliament Kirti Azad who was also an international cricketer, has written: “Bishan Paaji taught us the virtues of truth and morality.”
Kirti Azad’s opinion of Bedi
“Bishan Paaji has had an overwhelming influence on my game and on my personality. Much of what I have achieved has been because of him. He has lived his life on his own terms. But never once did he talk in a petty manner. His attitude was that of a large-hearted Sardar. But at the same time, he did not care for niceties when dealing with crooked administrators,” Azad has written.
Bedi’s tussles with former union minister and political heavyweight Arun Jaitley are well known. Jaitley was then the chief of Delhi cricket (DDCA). Bedi accused the latter of turning a blind eye to high level corruption in the game within his jurisdiction. None of the present day cricketers have the guts to open their mouths. Today that lone brave voice has fallen silent. It is a sad day indeed for Indian cricket.
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