Jewels of Amritsar
Here we will be profiling some of unknown jewels as well as internationally recognised jewels of Amritsar . If you want to see someone's profile who has contributed to Amritsar's fame or has been instrumental in betterment of society, please email us admin@Amritsari.com Thanks
Bishan Singh Bedi
Bishan Singh Bedi was born September 25, 1946 in Amritsar, is an Indian
former cricketer who specialised in slow left-arm orthodox bowling. He
played Test cricket for India and formed part of the famous Indian spin
quartet. He also captained the national side in 22 Test matches. Bedi is
known for being outspoken and forthright in his views on cricketing
matters.
Playing career
As captain of India, Bedi's personality inevitably led to some
controversies. One famous controversy occurred during a Test match
against the West Indies in 1976 when he objected to the intimidatory
tactics of the West Indian fast bowlers and declared the Indian first
innings closed early after two players were forced to retire hurt.
Subsequently, five players were absent hurt in the second innings of the
match.
In November 1978, he became the first captain to concede an
international cricket match. In a One Day International against Pakistan
at Sahiwal, India, with 8 wickets in hand, only required 23 runs from 14
balls. Bedi, however, recalled the batsmen from the crease and conceded
the match in protest at the bowling of Sarfraz Nawaz who had bowled 4
bouncers in succession with not one being called wide by the umpires.
In Indian domestic cricket, Bedi first played for Northern Punjab and
then later for Delhi. In the 1974-75 season of the Ranji Trophy, he took
a record 64 wickets. Bedi also represented Northamptonshire in English
county cricket for many years. He finished his career with 1560 wickets
in first-class cricket — more than any other Indian.
He said that he has always washed his own clothes, calling it "the best
exercise for your shoulders and fingers", when pointing out that spin
bowling requires suppleness of limbs.
His highest score of 50 not out, his only half century at Test Level,
was scored against New Zealand in Kanpur in 1976.
|
Right-hand bat | ||
| Bowling style | Slow left-arm orthodox | ||
| Career statistics | |||
| Tests | ODIs | ||
| Matches | 67 | 10 | |
| Runs scored | 656 | 31 | |
| Batting average | 8.98 | 6.2 | |
| 100s/50s | 0/1 | 0/0 | |
| Top score | 50* | 13 | |
| Balls bowled | 21364 | 590 | |
| Wickets | 266 | 7 | |
| Bowling average | 28.71 | 48.57 | |
| 5 wickets in innings | 14 | 0 | |
| 10 wickets in match | 1 | 0 | |
| Best bowling | 7/98 | 2/44 | |
| Catches | 26 | 4 | |
Coaching
In 1990, he had a brief stint as coach of the Indian national team. He
was the first person to be appointed to this job in a full-time
capacity. Following one cricket tour where India had played poorly, he
famously threatened to dump the entire team in the Pacific on the return
journey.
Opinions on modern day cricket
Bedi has stong opinions on many aspects of modern day cricket and has
been described as "rarely afraid to speak his mind". In particular, he
is a vehement critic of the bowling action of Muttiah Muralitharan ("if
Murali doesn't chuck, then show me how to bowl") which he bluntly refers
to as cheating and likens to a javelin throw and more recently, shot
putting, saying the Muralitharan "will complete 1000 Test wickets but
they would count as mere run-outs in my eyes". He takes a very dim view
of chucking, which he calls "a bigger threat than bribing and betting"
and claimed in 2004 that many bowlers on the subcontinent chuck, calling
Muralitharan a "Sri Lankan bandit closing in on a dream artist called
Shane Warne". He has stated, though, that he has nothing personal
against Muralitharan, although Muralitharan has threatened to sue him.
Recently he has echoed the same criticisms against his countryman,
Harbajhan Singh. Regarding suspect actions in cricket, he said "When a
bowler is chucking, he's referred to panels and the home cricket board.
Why not do the same for a wide or no-ball, then?". He has accused
one-day cricket, modern cricket bats and small grounds of causing a
decline in classical spin bowling in India.
He has also attacked Sunil Gavaskar, calling him "a destructive
influence". He said to Australian coach John Buchanan "Tell us, John,
have you made this Australian team great, or have they made you?"
He once famously bowled Colin Cowdrey in a first-class match and
remarked "I like your style of batting!". His son, Angad Bedi has also
represented Delhi in the Ranji Trophy and also been trying his skills in
TV and movies.
Source: Wikipedia