With his bright patkas and aesthetically pleasing bowling action, Bishan Bedi, who has died aged 77, was one of the most recognisable and popular figures in international cricket during the 1960s and 70s.
His gentle, effortless run-in and stately, upright delivery created an exceptionally high, loopy flight to the ball that was often mesmerising in combination with the prodigious turn generated by his fingers.
One of the finest ever spin bowlers, he gathered 266 wickets in his 67 Test matches for India between 1966 and 1979, and on his retirement was the highest Indian Test wicket-taker. Even now he sits at number eight on the list, behind a set of modern-day bowlers who have mostly played far more games. Perhaps more importantly, he stands fifth among the leading left-arm Test spinners of all time, below only Rangana Herath, Daniel Vettori, Derek Underwood and Ravindra Jadeja.
During an era when slow bowling was the dominant force in India, Bedi operated in highly effective conjunction with three other top-quality spin bowlers in Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivasaraghavan Venkataraghavan and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar – a celebrated quartet that was collectively responsible for 853 wickets in its various formulations, although there was only one time when they all played in the same match (against England at Edgbaston in 1967).
Aside from his duties with the ball, Bedi was also captain of India on 22 occasions, winning six and drawing 11 of his matches in charge while earning himself a reputation as a man who was prepared to court controversy.
In Indian domestic cricket he played for Northern Punjab (1961-67) and then Delhi (1968-81), with whom he won two Ranji Trophies, while in England he had five successful years with Northamptonshire (1972-77), guiding them to their first major trophy – the one-day Gillette Cup against Lancashire in 1976 – by taking three crucial wickets before hitting the winning runs. He ended his career with 1,560 wickets in all first-class cricket – the highest tally by an Indian player.
Born in the Sikh capital of Amritsar, Bedi first represented Northern Punjab at the age of 15, despite having taken up cricket only a couple of years previously. He made his international debut in Calcutta (now Kolkata) six years later, against the West Indies in the second Test of their three-match tour in 1966, taking the prized scalps of Basil Butcher and Clive Lloyd before going on to bag four wickets in the second innings of the next Test in Madras (now Chennai).
His best Test bowling performance came in 1969, when he picked up seven for 98 in Kolkata against Australia in a series in which he took 21 wickets at an average of 20.57. Thereafter he was consistently excellent, twice taking 25 wickets against England at home in 1972-73 and 1976-77 and securing 31 wickets in Australia in 1977-78.
Apart from his wicket-taking ability, Bedi’s other great strength was his accuracy and control, which made it difficult for batsmen to score. Conceding an average of only 2.14 runs an over throughout his Test career, his economy rate was lower than that of any other bowler who has taken 200 or more Test wickets, and has been bettered only by Lance Gibbs, Richie Benaud and Underwood.
Taking over the captaincy in 1975, Bedi showed the extent of his competitive nature the following year by presiding over a dramatic Indian run-chase against West Indies in the third Test in Trinidad, where his team successfully hunted down a record target of 403, a total most sides would have considered unachievable.
In the fourth and final Test he also demonstrated a willingness to go out on a limb, effectively conceding the match by refusing to send out his last five batsmen in the second innings as a protest at what he saw as intimidatory bowling. In 1978 he forfeited a one-day international against Pakistan for much the same reason. There were also frequent run-ins with administrators over pay and conditions for his players.
Bedi played his last Test against England at the Oval in 1979, but continued to appear for Delhi until 1981, after which he became a coach at the club and, for a time, with India. He also did some TV work, though he preferred to concentrate on mentoring young cricketers through his own coaching camps and cricketing school.
Off the field he became even more outspoken, variously accusing the Sri Lankan player Muttiah Muralitharan of having an illegal bowling action, criticising what he saw as the crass commercialism of the Indian Premier League, upbraiding the Indian cricketing authorities for being too close to the political elite and lambasting the prime minister Narendra Modi for his record on Covid-19.
Although his sometimes choleric outbursts divided opinion, he nevertheless managed to retain the general goodwill of the Indian public, who at the very least admired him for his free thinking and above all else loved him for his elegant cricketing achievements.
He is survived by his wife, Anju (nee Inderjit), their daughter Neha and son Angad, and his son Gavasinder and daughter Gillinder from a previous marriage to Glenith Miles, which ended in divorce.
• Bishan Singh Bedi, cricketer, born 25 September 1946; died 23 October 2023
