Bishan Singh Bedi – The Unorthodox Turn
Trivia:
Bishan Singh Bedi was a slow left-arm orthodox spinner from India. He played between 1966 and 1979 and took 266 Test wickets. Bedi was part of Indian spin quartet. The other bowlers were Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan (both off spinners) and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar (a leg spinner). He also took 1560 First-class wickets, most by an Indian.
Embed from Getty ImagesGames of Marbles:
Bedi loved to play marbles in childhood. The game helped him to strengthen the fingers and improved his concentration. He used to practice for hours in the nets to master the art. His precision was mind-boggling, and he could pitch all the six balls on a penny from different angles.
Advice to Shane Warne:
Warney was struggling against Sachin and asked Bedi how to set the field against Sachin? Bedi told Warney to play with his psychology and suggested to place the fielders in Slip, Gully, forward short leg and silly mid-off. Warney was not convinced and told Bedi that he must be joking. Bedi told, he was damn serious, and these fielders were placed to play with Sachin’s mind. Warney followed the instructions and took Sachin’s priced wicket in Gully.
Embed from Getty ImagesNorthamptonshire days:
Bedi Played 102 matches for Northamptonshire between 1972 and 1977. He took 394 wickets at just 21.16 with 23 five-fors for Northamptonshire.