Muralitharan’s greatest detractor Bishan Singh Bedi dies at 77

Tuesday, 24 October 2023 00:18 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Muttiah Muralitharan and his greatest critic Bishan Singh Bedi

Former Sri Lanka spinner Muttiah Muralitharan’s greatest critic of his bowling action, Bishan Singh Bedi died yesterday after a prolonged illness in Delhi.

Bedi has been an untiring critic of Muralitharan by repeatedly calling him a ‘chucker’ and asking the ICC to ban the bowler’s ‘doosra’ as it was illegal.

Muralitharan called the former Indian captain, a controversy monger and an ordinary bowler who would have been hammered by any batsman if he was playing now.

Muralitharan retired as the greatest wicket-taker in both Tests (800 wickets) and ODIs (534 wickets).

Bedi was an integral part of a famed quartet of India’s world-beating spin bowlers in the 1960s and 70s which included Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkatraghavan.

A rare outspoken cricketer, Bedi often got embroiled in controversies. In 1976, he declared India’s second innings at 97-5 against Clive Lloyd’s West Indies at Kingston in protest against intimidatory bowling. In 1977, he accused England left-arm fast bowler, John Lever of using vaseline to swing the ball during a tour of India, and the next year, he forfeited a match against Pakistan alleging partisan umpiring.