Bedi was born on September 25, 1946, in Amritsar, India.
Bedi, along with Erapalli Prasanna, BS Chandrasekhar, and S. Venkataraghavan, was the architect of a revolution in India’s spin bowling history.
The legendary spinner played 67 Tests for India between 1967 and 1979 picking 266 wickets.
He also took seven wickets in 10 One-Day Internationals.
He also played a key role in India’s first ODI win. His miserly bowling figures of 12-8-6-1 restricted East Africa to 120 in a 1975 World Cup fixture.
A master of flight and guile in his bowling, Bedi relied on his loop and turn to deceive the batters.
Bedi often extracted sharp turn from the pitch, making him a formidable spinner, especially on Indian wickets.
The Amritsar-born spinner, who plied his trade for Delhi on the domestic circuit, is the leading wicket-taker amongst Indians in First-Class cricket with 1,560 wickets in 370 matches.
He was also one of the most successful overseas players in the English County cricket circuit, too. He featured for Northamptonshire in 102 outings, between 1972 and 1977, and bagged 434 wickets for the Northants, the most by an Indian in County cricket.
Bedi also led Delhi to its first two Ranji Trophy titles — in 1978-79 and 1979-80. The team was also runner-up twice under him. Incidentally, the four finals came in a span of five years.
After retiring from international cricket, Bedi remained actively involved in the sport. He became a coach and commentator.
Bedi has received several awards and honors for his contributions to cricket, including the prestigious Arjuna Award.
Bedi was regarded as one of India’s all-time great spin bowlers. His classical and elegant style of bowling will be remembered as a testament to the art of spin bowling.