Bishan Singh Bedi facts for kids
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| Born | 25 September 1946 Amritsar, Punjab Province, British India |
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| Died | 23 October 2023 (aged 77) New Delhi, NCT of Delhi, India |
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| Nickname | Bishu | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Batting | Right-handed | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Bowling | Slow left-arm orthodox | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Role | Bowler | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| National side |
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| Test debut (cap 113) | 31 December 1966 v West Indies | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last Test | 30 August 1979 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ODI debut (cap 2) | 13 July 1974 v England | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Last ODI | 16 June 1979 v Sri Lanka | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic team information | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1961–1967 | Northern Punjab | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1968–1981 | Delhi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| 1972–1977 | Northamptonshire | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Source: ESPNcricinfo, 9 November 2014
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Bishan Singh Bedi (born 25 September 1946 – died 23 October 2023) was a famous Indian cricketer. He was known as a slow left-arm orthodox bowler. He played Test cricket for India from 1966 to 1979. He was part of the well-known group called the Indian spin quartet. Bedi played 67 Test matches and took 266 wickets. He also led the Indian team as captain in 22 Test matches. Bedi often wore a colorful patka (a type of turban). He was known for speaking his mind about cricket. He received the Padma Shri award in 1970. In 2004, he was given the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award.
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Playing Cricket
Bishan Bedi started playing cricket for Northern Punjab when he was just fifteen. He had only started playing cricket two years before that, which is quite late for a professional player. In 1968–69, he moved to play for the Delhi team. During the 1974–75 season of the Ranji Trophy, he set a record by taking 64 wickets. Bedi also played for Northamptonshire in England for many years. He ended his career with 1560 wickets in first-class cricket. This is more wickets than any other Indian cricketer.
Bedi's Bowling Style
People described Bedi's bowling as graceful and beautiful. He was very clever and artistic with the ball. He was an expert at flighting the ball. This means he could make it slow down or speed up in the air. He also added small changes to his spin. His bowling action was very smooth and balanced. This allowed him to bowl all day long with good rhythm and control. This was a great help to his team's captain.
He had many successful Test series. Here are some of them:
- India vs Australia 1969–70: He took 21 wickets, giving away about 20.57 runs per wicket.
- India vs England 1972–73: He took 25 wickets, giving away about 25.28 runs per wicket.
- India in the West Indies 1975–1976: He took 18 wickets, giving away about 25.33 runs per wicket.
- India vs New Zealand 1976–77: He took 22 wickets, giving away about 13.18 runs per wicket.
- India vs England 1976–77: He took 25 wickets, giving away about 22.96 runs per wicket.
- India in Australia 1977–78: He took 31 wickets, giving away about 23.87 runs per wicket.
His best bowling in a single Test match innings was 7 wickets for 98 runs. This happened against Australia in Calcutta in 1969–70. His best figures for an entire match were 10 wickets for 194 runs. This was also against Australia in Perth in 1977–78. In first-class cricket, his best bowling was 7 wickets for only 5 runs. This was for Delhi against Jammu and Kashmir in 1974–75.
Captaincy and Batting
Bedi became the captain of the Indian team in 1976. He took over from Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. His first Test win as captain was against the West Indies. This happened in Port-of-Spain during the 1976 series. In that match, India scored a record 406 runs in their final turn to bat. After this, India won a series against New Zealand at home by 2–0. However, after losing series to England, Australia, and Pakistan, he was replaced as captain. Sunil Gavaskar took over in 1979.
Even though he was not known for his batting, he once hit a boundary (a shot that goes for four runs). This happened off the second-to-last ball in a semi-final match. It helped his team, Northamptonshire, win the game by two wickets. His highest score in Test matches was 50 runs, which was his only half-century. He scored this against New Zealand in Kanpur in 1976.
Notable Achievements
Bedi is second only to Lance Gibbs in terms of "maiden overs" per Test match. A maiden over is when a bowler bowls six balls without the batter scoring any runs. In 2008, the famous cricket book Wisden Cricketers' Almanack named Bedi as one of the five best cricketers. These cricketers were special because they were never chosen as a Wisden Cricketer of the Year.
Personal Life
Bishan Singh Bedi was born on 25 September 1946, in Amritsar. This city was part of British India at the time. His son, Angad Bedi (born 1983), is an Indian actor. His daughter-in-law, Neha Dhupia, is also a well-known actress in Bollywood. Bedi once said that he always washed his own clothes. He called it "the best exercise for your shoulders and fingers." He believed this helped him with his spin bowling, which needs flexible limbs. Bedi passed away in New Delhi on 23 October 2023, at the age of 77.
Records
Bedi held a world record for the most economical bowling in a 60-over One Day International (ODI) match. This record was for bowlers who completed all their allowed overs. In the 1975 World Cup, bowlers could bowl 12 overs. Bedi finished with amazing figures of 12 overs, 8 maiden overs, only 6 runs given, and 1 wicket. This was against East Africa at Headingley.
Accolades
Bedi received the Padma Shri award in 1970. This is one of India's highest civilian honors. In 2004, Bedi was honored along with three other famous spin bowlers. These were Bhagwat Chandrasekhar, Srinivas Venkatraghavan, and Erapalli Prasanna. They were known together as the Indian spin quartet. They all received the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award. This award is given by the Board of Control for Cricket in India.
