The mortal remains of Bishan Singh Bedi were consigned to flames at the Lodhi Road crematorium here on Tuesday with a bevy of former and current cricketers in attendance to pay their tributes.
Many broke down when Bedi’s body, with Kapil Dev, Madan Lal, Kirti Azad, Gursharan Singh, Kartik Murali, wife Anju, son Angad, daughter Neha, daughter-in-law Neha Dhupia and son-in-law Gautam as pallbearers, was brought from his home `Cricket Abode’ in south Delhi.
Bedi, 77, passed away on Monday following prolonged illness.
“He was my Ustad. He taught me to dream big and work hard to make them come true,” a heartbroken Madan Lal said, “He was instrumental in giving shape to my career by advising me to shift to Delhi from Amritsar. (He was) a great human being.”
“A part of me has gone with him. I looked up to him for support and he never disappointed.”Former Indian cricketer Maninder Singh
Commentator and cricket expert Narottam Puri, who had watched Bedi even before his Test debut, observed, “Bishan was a large-hearted man and a genuinely good human being. A true friend and a totally dedicated cricketer.
“To me, Bishan was a hark back to the old times when morality counted in cricket. He departed this world to join another where he can play with the likes of WG Grace and Don Bradman.”
Apart from hockey greats Ajitpal Singh and Gurbax Singh, a galaxy of cricketers descended on the capital to be part of Bedi’s final journey.
Virender Sehwag at the funeral in New Delhi. | Photo Credit: The Hindu / Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Rahul Sanghvi flew down from Mumbai along with anchor Gaurav Kapur. “I would meet him with Angad and it was cricket education always,” remarked Zaheer.
“Bishan Paaji was an epitome of cricket culture. He was strict and also warm-hearted, giving an ear to your problem. There will not be another like him,” said Nehra.
World Cup-winning Indian captain Kapil Dev paid his respects to his first captain, Bishan Singh Bedi | Photo Credit: The Hindu / Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
“He was the coach when I first became India captain,” said Mohammad Azharuddin. “He was also responsible for me making my debut in the 1984 series (against England). His cricket wisdom was unmatched,”
Virender Sehwag presented a poignant picture. “He was a guiding force for all of us. My coach when I was made captain of the Delhi team. There was so much to learn from him,” said Sehwag.
Maninder Singh was crestfallen. “A part of me has gone with him. I looked up to him for support and he never disappointed. In fact, Bedi paaji was the reason for me bowling left-arm spin.”
Ashish Nehra and Madan Lal | Photo Credit: The Hindu / Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Kirti Azad flew down for the cremation from his native place.
“I could not have forgiven myself had I not had the final glimpse of the man who had the greatest influence on me. I have not seen a person who had such a tremendous sense of humour. He loved laughing at himself. What a teacher he was. His lessons have stayed with me,” he said.
Mohammad Azharuddin | Photo Credit: The Hindu / Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
A number of coaches who benefitted from Bedi’s guidance came to the cremation ground - Gurcharan Singh, Arun Bhardwaj, Vinod Sharma, MP Singh and Sunita Sharma. They had all revered Bedi during his active days as coach of Delhi, Punjab and India.
For Ajay Jadeja, it was an introspection that took him into a time when Bedi would interact with him to drive home the importance of training and discipline.
Gaurav Kapur and Zaheer Khan | Photo Credit: The Hindu / Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
“His stories of fitness are legendary and I have experienced them first-hand,” noted Jadeja, who took time off from his duties as a mentor with the Afghanistan team in the ongoing World Cup.
Sharmila Tagore was with the family throughout the funeral | Photo Credit: The Hindu / Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
An emotional Surinder Khanna, who had a long association with Bedi as a Delhi team member and a colleague at the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), said, “Truly the end of an era. Salute to my mentor. May you rest in peace and power. Bishan paaji was one of the greatest to have played the game. Blessed and honoured to have played under and with you. He shaped North India’s cricket to be what it is today.”
Kartik Murali | Photo Credit: The Hindu / Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
For young left-arm spinner Saurabh Kumar, who was picked in the Indian team for the Test series in Sri Lanka last year, it was a “shattering” loss. “Bishan sir was a father figure. He saw me in a crowd of aspirants and took me under his wings. It was my fortune to learn from him.”
Ajay Jadeja with Neha Dhupia | Photo Credit: The Hindu / Shashi Shekhar Kashyap
Some others who paid their tributes were film star Sharmila Tagore, former Test cricketers Sarandeep Singh and Chetan Sharma, former Haryana and North Zone off-spinner Sarkar Talwar, first-class cricketers Akash Lal, Arun Khurana, Pradeep Jain, Vinay Dutt, Kunal Lal, Sandeep Joshi, Atul Mohindra, Parvinder Awana, Gautam Vadhera, Tilak Raj, Sukhvinder Singh, Vinay Lamba, Praveen Oberoi and Rohit Sahni.
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