Remembering Bishan Singh Bedi: India Legend Who Turned Left-Arm Spin Into Fine Art

Regarded as one of the greatest left-arm spinners in world cricket, Bishan Singh Bedi passed away on Monday at the age of 77 years old in Delhi, leaving remarkable spin bowling stats behind. Bedi is survived by his son and Bollywood actor Angad Bedi, who is married to Bollywood actor Neha Dhupia. The legendary India spinner was known for his classical beauty of motion and ability to maintain a precise length over lengthy intervals while delicately altering his pace, trajectory, and release.

At the time of his retirement, he was India's leading Test wicket-taker, with 266 wickets at an average of 28.71.

He featured in 67 Tests for India between 1967 and 1979 and bagged 266 wickets. He also took seven wickets in 10 One-Day Internationals.

He played a pivotal role in India's first ODI win. His cheap bowling figures of 12-8-6-1 restricted East Africa to 120 in a 1975 World Cup.

Bedi played Test cricket for India from 1966 to 1979 and he formed part of the famous Indian spin quartet (Bedi, EAS Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar and S Venkataraghavan). The legendary spinner also captained the national side in 22 Test matches.

He was also honoured with the Padma Shri Award in 1970. Bedi also represented Northamptonshire in English county cricket for many years.

Bedi was a master of flight and spin, famous for deceiving batters with subtle variations. He was instrumental in India's historic series victory over England in 1971, captaining the team in the absence of the injured Ajit Wadekar. Under his leadership, India developed itself as a competitive cricketing nation.

The legendary spinner had an illustrious domestic cricket career, especially with the Delhi team, in addition to his international career. He was a mentor to several