Bishan, who claimed 266 wickets in 67 Exams in an illustrious world occupation between 1967 and 1979, used to be a person who would name a spade a spade, a jovial individual, a dried taskmaster and a pro at the farmland.Former left-arm pacer Karsan Ghavri, who performed a accumulation of cricket below Bishan’s captaincy, referred to as his former captain ‘yaaro ka yaar’.
Former Bharat spin legend Bishen Singh Bedi passes away
“It’s a sad day. It is shocking news. 77 is not that old age. He was a top-class cricketer, yaaro ka yaar tha (was best of friends). He used to have fun and play cricket with unmatched focus. He was a tremendous man. He has done a lot for youngsters and cricketers, especially from Punjab and Delhi,” Ghavri, who performed 39 Exams and 19 ODIs for Bharat between 1975 and 1981, advised TimesofIndia.com.
“I played a lot of Test cricket under his captaincy. He captained the side in Australia and then in Pakistan. He was my captain in the home Test series too. We played against each other in domestic cricket. He was a great competitor. You go to England, West Indies, Australia or New Zealand, Bishan has his own popularity there,” Ghavri stated.
For former Bharat wicketkeeper Kiran More, Bishan’s demise is a private loss. Bishan used to be one of the vital selectors when Extra began enjoying for Bharat.
Extra, who performed 49 Exams and 94 ODIs, is shell-shocked by means of the passing away of the spin legend.
“It is a very sad day for Indian cricket and for me as well because he was my mentor. He was the coach on three tours. When I got into the Indian team, he was my coach. He was my selector too. He was my favourite and I learnt a lot from him. It is a huge personal loss for me,” Extra stated.
“I spent a lot of time with him, especially during the tours to England and New Zealand. He always used to tell us to play hard, work hard but enjoy the game. He said go out, meet people, enjoy, have fun, make friends but be focussed towards the game,” Extra stated with a pile in his throat.
Balwinder Sandhu, one of the vital heroes of the 1983 Global Cup successful crew, stated Bishan used to be the architect at the back of Bharat turning into ODI champion.
Bishan used to be one of the vital selectors of the committee headed by means of Ghulam Ahmed. The committee had Chandu Borde, Chandu Sarwate, Bishan and Pankaj Roy because the alternative participants.
“He was the hero of that 1983 World Cup-winning team. He was the hero of those heroes because he selected that team. He was one of the selectors,” Balwinder, who claimed two wickets within the 1983 ultimate towards the mighty West Indies, stated.
“Bishan was the reason for making cricket bloom in the north, especially in Punjab. He did a lot for cricket. He used to send me shlokas from the Guru Granth Sahib every morning and I read those to start my day. I will miss those badly. We used to chat over the phone quite often,” he stated.
“I have admired that man since my childhood. He was my hero. He was always there to motivate me. He was my selector, he was my manager, he was my mentor as well. We both travelled together with the team to Pakistan. We had a great time with him. He was a great man. Zindadil is the word for me. He is the man who will call a spade a spade. He had that guts and courage. He lived his life laughing out loud, cracking jokes and making others laugh too. He was a great motivator and a superb person,” Balwinder, who performed 8 Exams and 22 ODIs, added.
Former Bharat cricketer Venkatpathy Raju additionally recalled the era when he met his first Bharat mentor, Bishan. Raju made his debut in 1990 towards Untouched Zealand in Christchurch.
“He was my first coach when I made my debut in New Zealand. He was a straightforward man. He was very much passionate about the game, a hard taskmaster. He had that quality of reading anyone’s game. He was always there and always spoke the truth on the face. That was Bishan Singh Bedi, always a man of his word,” Raju, who featured in 28 Exams and 53 ODIs, stated.
