To Bishan sir, with love

As I arrived at the office in Delhi, his staff greeted me and asked me to wait till the legend came. This being my first one-to-one meeting with a big cricketer, I was nervous and restless. So, I got up to confirm if this indeed was cricketer Bishan Singh Bedi’s office. 

“Bishan Sir se milna hai na aapko? Bishan Singh Bedi? Poore Dilli mein hi nahin, poore Hindustan mein ek hi Bishan Singh Bedi hai” (You want to meet Bishan Sir? Bishan Singh Bedi? Not only in Delhi but in entire India, there is only one Bishan Singh Bedi), was the straight forward response. I smiled in embarrassment and took my seat again. 

Even today, I fondly recall that short interaction with the staff in the summer of 2018, but in hindsight, how prophetic were those words? Anyone who knew Bishan Singh Bedi would vouch for the fact that there was and will always be only one Bishan Singh Bedi, not just in India but in the entire cricketing world. They don’t make them like him anymore. 

For the records, he took 266 wickets in 67 Tests and bamboozled batsmen across the world with his left-arm spin. But those are just numbers which, by the way, are quite impressive. However, if one starts to discuss his bowling style, adjectives from the Oxford dictionary would seem insufficient. “His run up was musical and the entire way of bowling was so graceful. I just used to stand up at mid-off and admire him. I don’t have a word to explain his bowling style,” was how his bowling partner Erapalli Prasanna had described Bishan’s bowling to me once. 

And then, it wasn’t just his bowling or his cricketing skills. He could mesmerise you with his talks, and every conversation with him was an education in cricket or life in general. For him, the game of cricket was an ideology. 

During one of our discussions, he said, “I never looked at the game as a sport, it is a philosophy. Do you know why it is said, ‘That’s not cricket’ Have you heard phrases like ‘That’s not football’ or ‘That’s not tennis’? The reason is that cricket is like any walk of life. Anything which is not honest cannot be cricket”. 

He hated unfair practices in the game or otherwise and would never be shy in voicing it out. Till recently, he would post his views on social media on the happenings both on and off the cricket field. His mantra in life was very simple, “Success is how much at peace you are with yourself and the world. Raat ko ghar jao to sukun se soo sako” (When you go home at night, you should be able to sleep peacefully). 

He liked honest efforts and would go any distance in providing encouragement for the same. His large heartedness wasn’t restricted to just cricket or cricketers. Apparently, once both the Indian Cricket & Hockey Team were in Bangalore in the mid-1970s. 

The cricketers were staying in a five-star hotel, whereas the Hockey players were put up in a dormitory at the Sree Kanteerava Stadium and were also given a far lesser sum as compared to the cricketers. Seeing this injustice meted out to the Hockey players, Bedi took them out for dinner a few times. 

Over the years, I witnessed many such acts of kindness. Today, as he rolls over his arm for one final time to move from Cricket Abode (the name of his house) for a journey to heaven, each person associated with him has their own story to tell. As far as I am concerned, his lines – “Stay connected with the game and keep writing” will forever have a place in my heart.