Bishan Singh Bedi was the left-arm spinner whose flight, loop and patience made him one of the most admired slow bowlers the game has seen. In 67 Tests between 1966 and 1979 he took 266 wickets, captained India 22 times and became the senior figure in the spin quartet that defined Indian cricket for a decade. He was also one of its most outspoken personalities, a man who never kept a strong opinion to himself.
Name: Bishan Singh Bedi | Born: 25 September 1946, Amritsar | Died: 23 October 2023, New Delhi | Sport: Cricket | Position: Slow left-arm orthodox bowler
Early cricket in Punjab and Delhi
Bedi was born in Amritsar and began his first-class career with Northern Punjab in 1961, while still a teenager. In 1968 he moved to Delhi, the side he would serve until 1981 and the place he would call home for the rest of his life. His bowling action was smooth and economical, with a short, rhythmic approach that let him bowl long spells without tiring. He gave the ball air, trusted it to drift and dip, and was willing to be hit for a boundary if it meant drawing a batter into a false stroke.
In domestic cricket his numbers were enormous. He took 64 wickets in the 1974-75 Ranji Trophy season, a record for the competition at the time, and he finished his first-class career with 1,560 wickets from 370 matches, more than any other Indian bowler.
The spin quartet years
Bedi made his Test debut against West Indies at the end of 1966. Over the following years he formed, with Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, the group of spinners that carried India’s attack at home and abroad. Each had a distinct method. Bedi’s was control and deception through flight, and he was often the one asked to bowl through an innings while the others attacked from the other end.
His best Test figures in an innings were 7 for 98 against Australia at Calcutta in 1969-70. On the 1977-78 tour of Australia he took 10 for 194 in the match at Perth, his only ten-wicket haul in Tests. He collected 14 five-wicket hauls in all.
County cricket with Northamptonshire
Like several leading Indian players of the period, Bedi took his skills to the English county game. He played for Northamptonshire from 1972 to 1977, bowling long spells in conditions that rarely suited spin and earning respect on the county circuit. The experience sharpened his game and brought him into contact with many of the players he would later face in Test cricket.
Captain and controversy
Bedi was appointed India captain in 1976, succeeding Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi, and led the side in 22 Tests before Sunil Gavaskar took over in 1979. His captaincy was rarely dull. In the fourth Test at Kingston in 1976, with two Indian batters retired hurt after a barrage of short-pitched bowling on an unpredictable pitch, Bedi declared India’s first innings closed early in protest at what he saw as intimidation.
During England’s 1976-77 tour he accused John Lever of illegally using Vaseline to shine the ball in the third Test at Madras. Lever was later cleared of any wrongdoing. Then, in a one-day international at Sahiwal in 1978, Bedi conceded the match to Pakistan in protest at a series of bouncers from Sarfraz Nawaz that the umpires had not called wide.
A memorable spell in the first World Cup
Bedi played only 10 one-day internationals, taking 7 wickets. One of them produced a famous set of figures. Against East Africa at Headingley in the 1975 World Cup, he bowled his full allocation of 12 overs, eight of them maidens, and conceded six runs for one wicket.
Manager, mentor and critic
After retiring, Bedi served as manager of the Indian team from July 1990 to September 1991 and spent many years coaching and mentoring young spinners in Delhi. He remained a frank critic of cricket administration and of bowling actions he considered illegal. His son, Angad Bedi, became a film actor.
He received the Padma Shri in 1970. In 2004 he shared the Col. C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award with his fellow members of the spin quartet. Bedi died in New Delhi on 23 October 2023, aged 77.
Career record and honours
- Tests: 67 matches, 266 wickets, average 28.71, best 7 for 98, 14 five-wicket hauls, one ten-wicket match
- One-day internationals: 10 matches, 7 wickets
- First-class: 370 matches, 1,560 wickets, the most by an Indian bowler
- Captained India in 22 Tests
- 64 wickets in the 1974-75 Ranji Trophy season
- 12-8-6-1 v East Africa, 1975 World Cup
- Teams: Northern Punjab, Delhi, Northamptonshire
- Padma Shri, 1970
- Col. C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award, 2004 (shared with the spin quartet)
