Kareena Kapoor mourns demise of legendary Indian spinner Bishan Singh Bedi

Kareena Kapoor Khan. Pic/Yogen Shah

Actor Kareena Kapoor Khan on Tuesday mourned the demise of legendary Indian spinner and the former captain of the Indian cricket team Bishan Singh Bedi.

Taking to Instagram, Kareena shared a picture on her stories and wrote, "Bishan Singh Bedi 1946-2023 Forever legend."

Bishan Singh Bedi passed away at the age of 77 on Monday after a prolonged illness, and his last rites were performed on Tuesday in Delhi by his son and actor Angad Bedi.

Anga was accompanied by his wife Neha Dhupia. Veteran star Sharmila Tagore also paid last respects to the legendary spinner.

Veteran cricket stars like Kapil Dev, Kirti Azad, and Mohammad Azharuddin were also present.

A day after his demise, his son Angad Bedi and daughter-in-law Neha Dhupia paid tribute to him via an official statement.

The heartwarming note read, "Isn't it completely in Dad's character to bowl us over with the ultimate spin ball, one that even we never saw coming. While we are in shock and overcome with grief, we find solace in knowing that he lived a rich, fearless, and full life that inspired many."

The Amritsar-born spinner was the leading wicket-taker amongst Indians in First-Class cricket with 1,560 wickets in 370 matches. He played 67 Tests for India between 1967 and 1979 and picked 266 wickets. He also took seven wickets in 10 One-Day Internationals.

Bedi, along with Erapalli Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar and S Venkataraghavan, was the architect of a revolution of sorts in India's spin bowling history.

In the Australian summer of 1977-78, the Indian cricket team - under the leadership of Bedi - displayed one of its grittiest performances in the five-match Test series. Even though the results were 3-2 in favour of the Bob Simpson-led home team, Bedi's team put on a mighty fight, clinching wins in the third and fourth Tests -- in Melbourne and Sydney.

Bedi was the Indian national team's first professional head coach in 1990 and emphasised fitness. After quitting the Indian team role, Bedi coached quite a few state teams and guided Punjab to its only Ranji Trophy win, in the 1992-93 season.

He was honoured with the Padma Shri in 1970. Bedi also represented Northamptonshire in English county cricket for many years.

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