Close encounters with the Sardar of Spin: Deceptive as a bowler, but never as a person

Bedi has left us with many lessons to be learned from his life, especially the way he played and captained. He was the first coach to stress fitness at a time when Indian cricketers believed fitness was not for cricket but for other sports

By K.R. Nayar

Bishen Singh Bedi, who passed away on Monday, was no doubt a legendary cricketer, but to me, he was one of the friendliest legendary cricketers. I heard of his passing away while at the South Africa-Bangladesh press conference at the Wankhede stadium. Ironically, it was on this ground where I first met him, and our subsequent encounters took place in Sharjah, especially when he came for a Super Sixes tournament and stayed on for a few days.

After we became close, I told him about my initial impressions of him before our first meeting. Many had written about how he spun a web around the batsmen, which led me to believe that he must be a stern and serious person too. His response was a hearty laughter that shook his entire body. The photo above was taken by me after one of our many laughter-filled sessions. Leaning back on the sofa, he’d say, “Think carefully if you want to publish what I just told you,” he quipped, and then added, “Let the world know what I felt.”

When I asked about the Doosra delivery, he humorously remarked, “It’s like the other woman in a man’s life’. Bedi was known never to hold back his opinion about cricketers. Once when asked about Muttiah Muralitharan’s suspect action, he quipped, “He is a javelin thrower.”

Bedi would quickly make such remarks and then break into his usual laughter. His lack of diplomacy could well have been the reason why he never held top positions in the game.

In 1990, after India performed poorly in a series, Bedi, who was the team manager, threatened to dump the entire team in the sea on their return journey.

As a bowler, he was known as the master of deception, but as a person, he never hid his true feelings. Bedi left us the day after India had won five matches in a row. It was indeed a sad moment when the entire country was celebrating this winning streak.

Bedi was part of India’s first-ever win in a World Cup in 1975 at Leeds in the Prudential World Cup against East Africa. In that 60-over tournament, with a 12-over limit for bowlers, he produced a spell of 12 overs, eight of which were maiden, gave away just six runs, and took a wicket.

Since all his interviews were filled with anecdotes or, most of the time, severe criticism about an organization or a system, I once requested him to share his thoughts on the qualities of a good spinner. He provided an in-depth answer, which, to me, was something to be treasured.

When I asked him for advice on becoming a good bowler, he said, “First of all, to be a bowler, one should bowl a lot.” When I thought he was joking, he added, “Unless you bowl 30 or 40 overs in a day or in an innings, you cannot attain any excellence. Perfection is something no cricketer can achieve. You can aim for excellence, but it won’t come to you if you only bowl eight or ten overs.”

I often quote the above wisdom from him in my speeches and commentary.

Bedi has left us with many lessons to be learned from his life, especially the way he played and captained. He was also the first coach to stress fitness at a time when Indian cricketers believed fitness was not for cricket but for other sports.

Bedi always read my blog postings and followed me on X (former Twitter). To me, that was indeed a great honour.

(This story has been used in arrangement with krbuzz.blogspot.com/Main picture on top courtesy Wikipedia)