By Jagmohan Singh Barhok
Bishan Singh Bedi, a Slow left-arm orthodox Spin bowler & Right Hand batsmen is knows as part of the Indian spin attack comprising of Bedi, Chandrashekhar, Prasanna & Venkataraghvan. Born 25 September 1946 at Amritsar in Punjab, Bedi made his debut in 1966 against West Indies. He played for Northern Punjab & Delhi between 1961 to 1981 & was also part of the Northamptonshire, UK.
He played a total of 67 Tests and took 266 wickets. He lead the Indian Cricket Team as captain in 22 Test matches. He remained outspoken and straightforward throughout his career and even after his retirement in 1979. His son Angad Bedi is married to actress & model Neha Dhupia. Bedi also played 10 ODIs, the last against Sri Lanka.
I met the cricketer in 1971 under the captaincy of Tiger Pataudi at Green Park Modi Stadium, Kanpur .The stadium was within the premises of DAV college where we often had NCC drills & other activities. G. R. Viswanath debuted in the same Test hitting a century in the second innings. He was caught without scoring in the first innings as far as I remember. The match was against Australia with Connolly & Mckenzie as the seamers. Engineer was the wicket-keeper. I also had a chat with The spinner during a Press meet in Delhi later.
