'Deeply Saddened': Virat Kohli Condole Demise of Former India Captain Bishan Singh Bedi

Batting maestro Virat Kohli shared a condolence message for Bishan Singh Bedi’s family as the legendary India spinner passed away on Monday. Former India skipper Bedi died at the age of 77 after a prolonged illness. People from all across the globe expressed their grief for the legendary spinner’s demise as Kohli also wrote a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Deeply saddened to hear about the passing of Bishan Singh Bedi ji. My condolences to the family,” Kohli wrote.

Senior India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin remembered Bedi as someone who went out of the way to help young cricketers, while former opener Gautam Gambhir felt the former left-arm spinner’s immense contribution would be remembered forever.

“Sad to hear about the demise of the great Bishan Singh Bedi, apart from being a great cricketer, he was an affable person and went the extra mile to help young cricketers,” wrote Ashwin on social media.

“Extremely saddened by the passing of Bishan Singh Bedi ji. His immense contribution to cricket will forever be remembered. May god give strength to his family and loved ones!” Gambhir wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Bedi played 67 Tests for India between 1967 and 1979, taking 266 wickets at an average of 28.71, apart from making 656 runs with the bat. The left-arm spinner also played 10 ODIs in which he claimed 7 scalps.

His left-arm spin bowling was known for the mastery he had of flight, loop and spin, along with using subtle variations to outwit batters at the crease, with tiny adjustments made in his superior arm speed release points.

Bedi was a part of Indian cricket’s golden quartet of spinners, the others being Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chadrasekhar and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, who formed the core of India’s bowling unit for more than a decade between 1966 and 1978.

He was the manager of the Indian team briefly in 1990. He was also an outspoken, unfazed and fearless voice on all matters related to the sport, calling a spade a spade, during and after his playing days.

At the same time, Bedi was revered for his wisdom, knowledge and infinite love for the sport. He was conferred with Arjuna Award in 1969, the Padma Shri in 1970 and the C. K. Nayudu Lifetime Achievement Award in 2004.