Tribute to Bedi from a living legend: Bedi taught me to play spin: Mathew Heyden
Chennai, Oct 23 : Former Australian opener Mathew Heyden on Monday credited late Bishan Singh Bedi for teaching him to play spin and described how he mentored him like a captain.
“Behind Allan Border. I think that the great late Bishan Singh Bedi just had that amazing spirit of the game. He always had this glint of your in his eyes, which kind of kept you on edge. But it also allowed you to benefit from just as beautiful a transformation of your own game,” Hayden told Star Sports.
“He provided so much support to young players. As a young boy, I can remember walking out through this Madras Cricket Club and there was Bishan Bedi here in the middle to discuss, not batting, but the art of spin bowling. A boy from the bush, a boy from Brisbane brought up on green wickets, had no idea how to play spin but Bishan was there,” he added.
Bedi breathed his last today in New Delhi after ailing for the last couple of years, and also had undergone multiple surgeries including knee. He was aged 77 and scalped 266 wickets in 67 Tests and played 10 ODIs. Bedi captained India from 1975 to 1979, after Mansur Ali Khan Pataudi’s retirement.
Heyden also called Bedi a magnificent storytelling ability as a bowler and was an extraordinary bowler.
“He had that great appetite to absorb, you know, this magnificent storytelling ability as a bowler and a magnificent bowler. He was just an extraordinary bowler,” the former Australian opener concluded.
