Former cricket player Bishan Singh Bedi is recognized as one of the best Indian spinners of all time. His primary ability was bowling with a relaxed motion and a small amount of additional flighted variety to confuse the hitters with his off-break and turn from the wicket. In the 1960s and 1970s, he was a member of the famed Indian spin quartet alongside Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar. The controversial cricketer made his debut in the 1969–70 Australia Test series, when he took 21 wickets overall and posted his best test figures of 7/98 at Kolkata.
In 1976, Bedi replaced Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi as India’s captain. In order to defeat the powerful West Indies in Port of Spain, his team had to chase a then-record 406 runs in the fourth inning. However, under his leadership, they executed a miraculous comeback and triumphed by a margin of 1.5 innings.
Biography of Bishan Singh Bedi:
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- Real name: Bishan Singh Bedi
- Other/Nickname: Bishu
- Profession: former Indian cricketer
- Famous for: Bowler
- Best Performance: India versus Australia in 1969–70: 21 wickets averaging 20.57
Personal Life:
- Date Of Birth: 25 September 1946
- Place Of Birth: Amritsar, Punjab, British India
- Nationality: Indian
- Hometown: Amritsar, Punjab
- School: Saint Francis School, Amritsar
- College: Hindu College, Amritsar
- Highest Education Qualification: Graduate
Family Statistics:
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- Marital Status: Married
- Wife: Anju Inderjit Bedi
- Children: Daughter-Neha Bedi, Neha Bedi, Son– Angad Bedi, Gavas Inder Bedi,
- Parents: Father- Gyan Singh Bedi
- Siblings: 13 siblings
- Religion: Sikhism
- Other Hobbies: Reading and Cooking
Career Statistics:
- Test Debut: On 31 Dec 1966 against West Indies at Eden Gardens, Calcutta
- ODI Debut: On 13 July 1974, against England at the Yorkshire Cricket Ground in Leeds, England
Achievements of Bishan Singh Bedi:
- One of the best Indian cricketers of 1967
- In 1969, the Government of India presented the Arjuna Award
- the 1970 award winner of India’s Padma Shri Honour Award
- Winner of the CK Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004
- To honour him, the Wisden India Hall of Fame inducted him in 2015
Here are some interesting facts regarding Bishan Singh Bedi:
- Bishan Singh Bedi was born during the time when India fought the British in a peaceful way. He played marbles on the streets of Amritsar when he was a child. He began playing when he heard a cricket match between India and the West Indies on the radio. He played to lose weight. In 1968-69, he moved to Delhi, where in the 1974-75 Ranji season he took a record 64 wickets.
- Bedi discusses an unofficial test between India and Sri Lanka that occurred in Nagpur in 1975 in his television series.
- In 1976 in Kanpur, against New Zealand, he scored fifty runs, his highest score. In international competition, it was his only 50.
- Bedi is a man of exceptional generosity. In response to a request for donations he saw in the media, he donated blood while Cavalier was on tour in Karachi. Benazir Bhutto, who was Pakistan’s prime minister at the time, was impressed by his generosity and presented him with two rugs and a tea service.
- Twenty20 cricket was always one of his least favourite types of the game, and he often said that it was “suffocating” and “the most vulgar expression of cricket”.
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