Kapil, Tendulkar, Gavaskar pay tributes

Sachin Tendulkar listens to a point BS Bedi makes to him

Bishan Singh Bedi, who passed away in New Delhi on Monday at the age of 77 due to a prolonged illness, was a controversial figure as captain and the Indian team's cricket manager. "Critics would call Bishan a rebel. Wrong. To me, he was a cricketer who knew his rights well," former captain Kapil Dev wrote in a book on Bedi.

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But he could also be harsh. During his short stint as India coach he reportedly threatened to dump the team in the Pacific Ocean after a humiliating loss in NZ in 1990. He said the comment had been misreported and insisted he would not have stopped any player who wanted to jump into the sea out of shame. Meanwhile, Sachin Tendulkar said: "I had the privilege of facing him in the nets... and I had to be at my absolute best while facing him."

Batting legend Sunil Gavaskar, who played with Bedi from 1971 to 1979, said: "Sad news indeed. He was the finest left hand bowler that I saw."