The Indian cricket team wore black armbands in memory of the legendary spinner Bishan Singh Bedi who passed away earlier on Monday. The Indian team stepped on the pitch to face England at Lucknow’s Ekana Sports City on Sunday in the ongoing World Cup while wearing a black armband. Even the support staff members, like head coach Rahul Dravid, were seen wearing black armbands during the national anthem. In a do-or-die clash for the defending champions, India was put to bat first by England skipper Jos Buttler after winning the toss.
The celebrated left-arm spinner, who formed a much-vaunted spinning quartet along with Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, and Bhagwat Chandrasekhar in his heydays, passed away in Delhi on Monday after a prolonged illness.
The legendary spinner represented India in 67 Tests and 10 ODIs, taking a combined total of 273 wickets. Well known for his profound understanding of the game, Bedi’s elegant and rhythmic bowling action, coupled with his ability to generate prodigious spin and his discipline with the ball, earned him tremendous success.
With an astounding 1560 first-class wickets to his credit, Bedi also led India in 22 Tests, with three of the six wins coming on foreign soil. He also featured in India’s inaugural ODI, played on July 13, 1974, in Leeds. At the time of his retirement, Bedi held the distinction of being India’s highest wicket-taker in Test cricket.
