Bishan Singh Bedi: Sardar of Indian Cricket

 In the midst of a World Cup the news of the demise Bishan Singh Bedi will get him the tributes he richly deserves for his prowess on the field in the decade of sixties and seventies. The era was marked by the Indian spin quartet and as a classical left arm spinner he was the only one of his kind. They were so dominant that we had only to rough up the ball from day one. So much so that the ball used to be returned rolled on the ground when returned from the infield. Such was his individual great that the spin talent available in the country  other spinners like Padmakar Shivalkar, Rajinder Goel who took bucket fulls of wickets in domestic Ranji Trophy cricket  could not get selected to play for India 

 The abiding memory of his bowling especially for my generation where we depended on radio commentary and press reports was the smooth action of Bishan Singh Bedi. His colourful patka and his broad chested muscular look was a sight to behold. He was a commentators delight and on any pitch in home and overseas he was a potent threat especially to the Englishmen who did not possess the foot work to counter his deception and guile. His ability to lure the batsmen and deceive them in the air took the pitch out the equation. A quintessential Sardar he was hot headed and wore his emotions on his sleeves. He could be ruthless on the field of play but he was generous in his applause of the batsman who got the better of him. Later in his career when Television was available, many of us including myself were hypnotised by the sight of Bishan Bedi and the manner in which he would outwit the best in the world.Every delivery in an over was different from the previous one. A remarkable part of his bowling was his smooth action which made his bowling look effortless. He was willing to buy his wickets by generously flighting the ball and challenging the batsmen to hit him. To his colleagues he was generous to a fault and to the administrators especially those with poor knowledge he was at most times scathing in his criticism. 

 For Bishan Singh Bedi cricket remained a gentleman's game and a way of life. He abhorred cheating of any kind and looked down upon bowlers with suspect actions who seemed guilty of chucking. In the case the world's highest wicket taker Muttiah Muralitharan, despite him being cleared for his action on technical grounds he maintained that Murali was a cheater. He admired Mumbai cricket but wanted to beat them and slowly and steadily he was able to nurture talent in Delhi and North India. Delhi and North India were able to win thanks to him and many of the cricketers from the region mentored by him represented India with distinction. Bedi had his run in with Sunil Gavaskar who he felt was a defensive cricketer who played to draw the games rather than win. As a captain he was famous for catching and confronting John Lever an English bowler who used vaseline to shine the ball and swing it. He also declared an innings after India lost 5 wickets against the West Indies as the pitch was too fast and the Windes express bowlers were likely to injure the Indian tailenders. He was a gutsy man a gutsy cricketer but had a weakness in terms courting controversy by making rash statements which he found difficult to justify or retract in later life. He once conceded a match against Pakistan in protest against umpires refusing to declare wide bowls.  These were acts of courage and showed Bedi as a man who was fearless and a strong believer of fair play in cricket. He hated IPL and I do not think he ever made peace with this form of cricket.The lack of neutral umpiring and a bit of bravado in the tour against Pakistan spelt a little earlier end to his career than expected, or else he would have been the first Indian to get 300 test wickets. I also recollect an interview of him with his son who never fulfilled his dream of becoming a cricketer and landed up in Bollywood and I don't think he had reconciled to accept this too. 

In conclusion Bishan Singh Bedi was both a childhood hero and villain. He had multifaceted career, as colourful as the various colours of his famous patkas. Our generation was blessed to have witnessed and experienced his game and persona. As part of a quartet of spinners he was the most colourful and controversial one with the smoothest and most effortless action. He was a mentor to a generation of cricketers of North India. I doubt we will see another of his kind again who lived and played cricket the same way, gentleman's way.

Vispi Jokhi