India’s legendary cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi passed away after a prolonged illness. He was 77.
He was battling age-related illnesses and had undergone a few surgeries in recent years.
Bedi, regarded as one of the world’s finest ever spin bowlers, captained India in 22 of his 67 Tests and took 266 wickets.
He made his debut against West Indies in 1966 and played his last Test against England at The Oval in 1979.
Bedi also played English county cricket for Northamptonshire and finished his career with 1,560 first-class wickets, the highest by any Indian.
Born in Amritsar , Bedi began playing cricket at school. When he turned 20, he became the 113th cricketer to represent India in Tests.
Over a 12-year career his best bowling performance came in 1969 when he picked up seven wickets for 98 runs against Australia in Calcutta, a test match that India lost.
In his trademark pink or bright blue turban, Bedi was a spin bowling purist’s dream. With a languid run-up and a fluid action, bowling came naturally to him. A cricket writer described the left arm spinner as “stealthy, silent and deadly, a master of deception who conjured variations in flight, loop, spin and pace without any perceptible change in action”.