"Have Lost My Closest Friend...": Ex-Pakistan Captain Intikhab Alam On Bishan Singh Bedi's Demise

Former Pakistan captain Intikhab Alam was stunned into silence after hearing about the demise of Indian great Bishan Singh Bedi, his closest friend across the border. Bedi's death felt like a personal loss for Alam, who spoke to PTI over the phone from Lahore. Their friendship dates back to 1971 when Bedi toured England with the Indian team and Alam, representing Surrey, played the legendary left-arm spinner in a tour game.

In the same year, both Alam and Bedi went on a five month tour of Australia with the World XI squad and it was then their bond grew stronger.

More recently, they reunited at the Kartarpur Sahib in October last year and reminisced the old times.

Alam sighed when he heard about Bedi's death before gathering his breath to pay tribute to one of the greatest spinners of all time.

"What a great personality he was. A kind hearted person, full of humour. There was never a dull moment when he was around.

"He was of course a world class cricketer but an even better human being. I have lost my closest friend on the other side of the border," said Alam, who would stay with Bedi whenever he visited Delhi and the Indian would do likewise whenever he was in Lahore.

Following a surgery in March 2021 to remove blood clot in his brain, Bedi could not be his usual self and even in his meeting with Alam in Kartarpur, the latter did most of the talking and also sang their "team song" 'Louise Armstrong's When the Saints Go Marching In'.

"Kartarpur was the last time we met. We got so emotional that we cried talking about the old times. Of late, we could not talk over phone (due to Bedis' health), but my wife was in regular touch with Bishan's wife. They both also became the best of friends because of our friendship," said