Former India spinner Bishan Singh Bedi passes away at 77

Former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi passed away on October 23, Monday at the age of 77. Bedi was arguably one of the greatest left-arm spinners India have ever produced.

Bedi, who made his international debut in 1966, has played a total of 67 Tests and took 266 wickets. He has captained the national team in 22 matches in the longest format of the game. The former cricketer was well known for his straightforward views on cricketing matters.

Bedi debuted for Northern Punjab at the age of fifteen. He subsequently joined the Delhi team in 1968, where he set a record with 64 wickets in the Ranji Trophy season of 1974–75. From 1972 to 1977, Bedi played for Northamptonshire in English county cricket.

The Amritsar-born cricketer ended his first-class career with 1560 wickets, a higher total than any other Indian. His best first-class bowling performance was 7/5 for Delhi against Jammu and Kashmir in New Delhi in 1974-75. Meanwhile, His best Test bowling numbers were 7/98 against Australia in Calcutta (former name of Kolkata) in 1969-70, and 10/194 against the same team in Perth in 1977-78.

In 1976, Bedi was named India’s captain, replacing Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi. His maiden Test victory as skipper was against the West Indies in the third Test of the 1976 series at Port-of-Spain. After that, he captained the team that won the home series against New Zealand 2-0. But Sunil Gavaskar took over as captain following consecutive Test series defeats against England, Australia, and Pakistan, respectively.

In terms of maiden overs per Test, Bedi trails Lance Gibbs by 16.35 to 16.62. Despite having only played two ODIs, he holds the world record for the most economical bowling figures in a 60-over ODI match. For his unwavering contributions to the sport, Bedi was awarded the Padma Shri in 1970 and the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.