IN PICS – Remembering legendary former India captain Bishan Singh Bedi

One of India’s finest-ever spinners and a trailblazer in his category, Bishan Singh Bedi, breathed his last on Monday, October 23, 2023, aged 77. The left-arm orthodox spinner, known for his guile and gut on the field, was a former India captain and part of the spin quartet – including Erapalli Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar and S. Venkataraghavan. Let’s look back at his career in photos and numbers.

The left-arm spinner from Punjab made his Test debut against the West Indies in 1966. In a decorated career that spanned over a decade, Bedi picked 266 wickets in Tests at an impressive average of 28.71. Outside of Tests, Bedi also featured in ten ODIs for India, picking seven wickets.

A spinner of the highest quality, Bedi played against the who’s who of world cricket and made a name for himself at all levels. Bedi’s best bowling figure in an inning came against Australia in Kolkata (Calcutta then) in 1969, wherein he picked 7/98. However, his best match figures (10/194) came against the same opponents in 1977.

Bishen Singh Bedi succeeded Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi as the Indian captain in 1976. Under his captaincy, India beat West Indies in 1976 in Port-of-Spain, chasing a then-world-record fourth-inning total of 406. He led India in 22 Tests. Sunil Gavaskar replaced him as the India Captain later.

Having plied his trade for Northamptonshire between 1972 to 1977, Bedi appeared in 102 matches, picking a whopping 434 wickets – becoming the Indian with the most wickets in County Cricket.

Bishen Singh Bedi won numerous awards in his career, including the Padma Shri Award in 1970 and the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.