Bishan Singh Bedi, the spin wizard, was born on September 25, 1946 in Amritsar. This ex-Indian cricketer rose to prominence because of his fascinating utilisation of the tradition of slow left-arm bowling. He was vital pillar strength for Indian Cricket, in the Test series. He was an integral component of the unparalleled Indian Spin Quartet. . He also has guided the national team as the Captain in 22 Test matches. He played Test for India from 1966 to 1979. He was the captain of the Indian Cricket Team in 22 Test matches and was quite forthright and straight forward in his decision making process and ideas about the game. Even today he happens to be the few out spoken person among ex-players.
Cricket Career of Bishan Singh Bedi
Bedi, the man of immense talent has never feared to raise his voice against any kind of unethical strategies and corruptions. Courageous yet logical Bedi therefore always stood as one of the eminent Indian cricket personalities. In the sphere of domestic Indian cricket, Bedi started off as a player for Northern Punjab and afterwards for Delhi. In the 1974-75 session of the Ranji Trophy, he created a record by securing 64 wickets. His highest achievement was a half century, not out, Test Level, made against New Zealand in Kanpur in 1976.
He started his cricketing career as a Northern Punjab player as a fifteen year old, which is pretty old considering the nature of the game. After getting selected for Ranji Trophy Team he shifted to Delhi in 1968-69. He took highest number wickets, a record of 64 in 1974-75 seasons which is still a record. Apart from his attachments with the Indian Team and Ranji cricket we also participated successfully in English County Cricket as well where he represented Northamptonshire. He played in English county for many years. His bowling has often been described as beautiful, graceful and full of guile. He was an expert at flight delivery and had subtle variation in spin. He had a composed bowling action and bowled with utmost control and rhythm. He was an asset to the team and had many successful Test series for his country.
His best bowling figures playing for India was 7/98 against Australia at Kolkata`s Eden Gardens in 1969-70. Bedi was named captain of the Indian Cricket Team in the year 1976, when he succeeded Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. His maiden Test win as captain came in the third Test against West Indies in Port-of-Spain. But his stint as captain did not last for long as inevitably was surrounded by some controversies.
Cricket Statistics
Batting and Fielding Averages
|
Mat |
Inns |
NO |
Runs |
HS |
Ave |
BF |
SR |
100 |
50 |
6s |
Ct |
St |
| Tests |
67 |
101 |
28 |
656 |
50* |
8.98 |
|
|
0 |
1 |
3 |
26 |
0 |
| ODIs |
10 |
7 |
2 |
31 |
13 |
6.20 |
70 |
44.28 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
4 |
0 |
| First-class |
370 |
426 |
111 |
3584 |
61 |
11.37 |
|
|
0 |
7 |
|
172 |
0 |
| List A |
72 |
45 |
13 |
218 |
24* |
6.81 |
|
|
0 |
0 |
|
21 |
0 |
Bowling Averages
|
Mat |
Inns |
Balls |
Runs |
Wkts |
BBI |
BBM |
Ave |
Econ |
SR |
4w |
5w |
10 |
| Tests |
67 |
118 |
21364 |
7637 |
266 |
7/98 |
10/194 |
28.71 |
2.14 |
80.3 |
13 |
14 |
1 |
| ODIs |
10 |
10 |
590 |
340 |
7 |
2/44 |
2/44 |
48.57 |
3.45 |
84.2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| First-class |
370 |
|
90354 |
33843 |
1560 |
7/5 |
|
21.69 |
2.24 |
57.9 |
|
106 |
20 |
| List A |
72 |
|
3686 |
2087 |
71 |
5/30 |
5/30 |
29.39 |
3.39 |
51.9 |
1 |
1 |
0 |
Bishan Singh Bedi`s Stint as a Coach
He drew a conclusion to his career with 1560 wickets in first-class cricket. Long after his cricketing career, Bishen Singh Bedi tried his hand in coaching, where he did not taste much success. He was appointed as a full time coach to the Indian Cricket Team, but the team did not do well under him and that lead to his ouster. Bedi, was of course a strict coach and is renowned for his hysteric threat to the Indian Cricket Team, post their failure. He was said to have thwarted them with the threat to dump them in the Pacific, during the journey back home.
This man will remain at the helm of affairs for his brewing passion for cricket.
