You can't call a white man a cheat and get away: Bishen Bedi

May 17, 2002, 11:59 IST

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Meet Bishen Singh Bedi, one of India's most successful captains and one of the few cricketers who have continued to have a meaningful association with the game after retirement.

<arttitle>You can't call a white man a cheat and get away: <b>Bishen Bedi</b></arttitle>

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><img src="/photo/10350000.cms" alt="/photo/10350000.cms" border="0" />He was perhaps the greatest spin bowler of his generation, that is before Imran Khan took him apart in Pakistan. Meet Bishen Singh Bedi, one of India''s most successful captains and one of the few cricketers who have continued to have a meaningful association with the game after retirement.So what makes him tick? Is it his boundless energy or his indomitable spirit? This is an exclusive preview offered to cricket.indiatimes.com. Q: You were 13 brothers and sisters. You were the 14th. How does it feel to be the youngest in such a big family? BB: When I was born I just saw 4 sisters. There was no male child surviving in the family. I used to joke with my mother that since I have arrived on the scene, I have not allowed anybody else. But to be fair to her she did well and she was a typical housewife. Â Q: Did she spoil you? BB: No, neither she nor my father. Â Q: Your father was the president of the district Congress committee. Was there a lot of political activity around you? BB: There was quite a lot. But I was never interested in that. And my father was very low key. He saw two or three chief ministers pass through him. After he died, I went to see for the first time his liabilities and assets in the bank. In his current account he had Rs 37 and 75 paise. Â Q: Wasn''t he keen that you take up tennis? BB: Yes he was a keen tennis player himself. He wanted me to play tennis but my coach Gyan Prakash stopped me saying I would damage my elbow. Â Q: In fact your fascination for the game began when you heard cricket commentary on the radio. Is that right? BB: I did hear it. And this was a Test match between India and the West Indies at Kanpur. Subhash Gupte had taken 9 wickets and that was something. That spurred me on. I had never seen Subhash bowl! Honestly. Â Q: Did you suddenly visualise yourself as another Subhash Gupte? BB: It was. Â Q: So cricket was your way of losing weight? BB: Yes it was, because I got someone run out. It was not a British thing to do. You ran your own self out. But since I was playing better than the other guy and I thought the idea was to win the match, it was better that he got run out. Â Q: You took up the game so well that three years later at 15 you made your Ranji debut. How did you feel? BB: I never expected it. I was very luck to get the right break at the right time. I was able to capitalise on it. Â Q:You believe in luck? BB: Very important. Q: Apart from luck there were two people who influenced you. One of them was Gyan Prakash, your coach. How much of Bishen Bedi is his creation? BB: Right, let me put it this way. My father was my dharampita who -brought me into this world. And my karampita was Gyan Prakash. Â Q: So you owe everything to him? BB: Yes everything to him. I worship him. Â Q: What was that lofty, curving spin technique that he taught you? BB: No, he never told me anything about spin bowling. But what I admired him for is that he gave me enormous amount of cricketing sense. I used to spend hours with him just talking on cricket in his office in the college. On the field he would never come up and tell anything. People used to ask him as to why he never speaks to this young boy. His reply was - he always has the ball in his hands. He is never tired of bowling. Â Q) The other person who was an influence was your friend when you were playing Ranji Trophy for Delhi - B.S. Rattan. BB: Yes, Dr B.S. Rattan. He is now the Vice-principal of Khalsa College. When I first came to Delhi, he gave me lots of courage to be self- reliant. I walked into his house and he asked me to broom and wash the utensils. Â Q: So you were studying, washing utensils and using the broom all at the same time? BB: Everything. And I enjoyed it. I owe it to him that he made me self-reliant. Â Q: He made a man out of you? BB: He did. Â Q: It was the New Year''s Day in 1967 when you first played for India. But that was not only the first Test that you played but also the first Test match you saw. BB: Yes that is true. And I was never expected to play because I was not in the squad originally. They had announced the team and I was told to go to Calcutta and practice with the boys. On the eve of the match at around 10pm, somebody came to my room and said he had heard my name over the radio. I wasn''t informed by the captain or the manager. Â Q: So if that friend hadn''t told you.... BB: Yes. I had in fact packed my bags to come back to Delhi to play a match. Â Q: Another example of luck? BB: It was. But once I was told I was playing, I couldn''t sleep after that. Â Q: You did well and on your first day took two wickets. The moment Pataudi took that catch from Butcher and gave you your first wicket for India, did it feel special? BB: It was great and it was a brilliant catch from Tiger. He was fielding at extra cover. Butcher hit it well. I thought it would go for a four. But Tiger went back 10 or 15 yards, jumped in the air and plucked the ball with 2 fingers. Â Q: You were not the greatest fielder I the world but by sheer determination made yourself the safest pair of hands in the team. Do you accept that? BB: I think that is very kind. I was a limited cricketer. I was never a good athlete. And that is why I put so much of stress on physical training and fitness now. I really do. My biggest regret was that I was never a natural athlete and I couldn''t bat for nuts. So I had to do something to pull my weight in the side. Something extra. I was fortunate I had a very natural and smooth bowling action. And I worked at it, and worked at it, and worked at it. Â Q: So hard work and persistence were the secrets of success? BB: Persistence yes. I played well with my limitations. I was also very fortunate to have played my first Test under Tiger Pataudi. He was very caring and understanding. He is one of the nicest human beings to have captained India. Â Q: You became captain in 1976 and your greatest moment was that triumphant victory at the Port of Spain in the same year, when India won in the fourth innings scoring 464. Was that luck or Bishan Bedi giving his best? BB: I wouldn''t like to take credit for that. Sunil Gavaskar scored a 100, Vishwanath got the runs and so did Jimmy Amarnath. But were determined to chase the score. And I think it was brilliant application by batters. There was a lot of effort behind it. We had planned it. This was the team that scored more than 400 chasing thrice. Once we won, lost once and drew the third time. Â Q: You were also involved in a lot of controversies in 1974 when you got dropped mysteriously from the side. And the Board said that you had spoken out of turn in a British TV interview. What did you say? BB: I was just talking to young kids. It was a coaching programme with Tony Greig. Â Q: What did you say? BB: It was for just appearing on TV. Now cricketers and officials are getting away with murder. And mind you I was playing professional cricket in England. Â Q: And for that TV appearance they dropped you? BB: I was not considered. There wee some people in the Board who wanted to get in my way. Unfortunately for them they couldn''t. Â Q: In 1976 you were back into controversy when the English press started fuming because they thought you had accused John Lever of using Vaseline. What happened? BB: Yes they were using unfair means. Tampering wit the ball. It happened in Madras but they had been doing it in the previous Test in Delhi, as well in Calcutta. They were caught in Madras. Â Q: Did the press make you the fall guy? BB: It was not the press. It was my Board. They did not stand by me. Â Q: Once again the Board let you down. BB: Definitely, but not only me, the entire country. Â Q: Very soon after this incident, your county contract was terminated. Were the two terminated? BB: I would like to think they were. Â Q: Were they punishing you for having spoken against John Lever? BB: I had spoken against the English side and not against one individual. It was just that Lever got caught. The others were doing it too. Â Q: And so the English punished you? BB: Maybe. You can''t call a white man a cheat and get away with it. Â Q:And then again in 1976, you declared at 97 for 5 at Sabina Park. And they said it was unsporting of you to do so? BB: Sabina Park, that was in Jamaica. No it was not unsporting. We had just five fit people. The other five were injured and one was in the ICU. I didn''t declare. The innings closed. That was a Test I would not like to remember. Â Q: Because West Indies was playing unfairly? BB: Yes, they had given a new meaning to Bodyline. Â Q: You said they were bowling to damage and not take wickets? BB: They were. We were 200 for 1. Once the second new ball came, the bowlers were passed the instruction, fine if you can''t get them out, knock ''em out. Â Q: People say that you got into controversies because you spoke your mind. BB: I am outspoken. I have an in-built system. If I do not agree with something, I have to let it out. Â Q) If sometimes, you get into trouble, do you regret it? BB: No never. Honestly. Given half the opportunity, I would do it again. Â Q: When you came back from the 1989 tour of New Zealand as manager of the Indian team you said the team should be dropped in the Pacific Ocean. BB: I was very honest. I was very cut up and annoyed. And I wanted to hurt the boys really where it hurt most. We had managed to get the opposition out for 146 runs. And we failed to get those runs. I remember talking to the media after the match. I told them that if today any Indian player wants to jump in to the Pacific, I wouldn''t stop him. I was very annoyed. I wanted them to feel the hurt. Â Q: You have strong views on how the team should be selected. Do you think that they are doing it well at present? BB: No. I think we can make amends. This system has been prevalent form the last 45 years. Â Q: You are referring to the Zonal System. What is wrong? BB: When you are picking selectors on the Zonal basis, you are giving rise to parochial interests. If a selector from the north does not select a player from the same Zone, the Northern Zone will fire him. Â Q: So we have an India team. But they are chosen as to where they come from Mumbai, Calcutta, Madras... BB: I don''t care if the entire team comes from Mumbai or Karnataka as long as they are worthy of it. Â Q: You have been married twice and have four children. Have you been a good father? BB: Yes and no. There is the personal regret that I couldn''t give my kids in Australia enough time. But I think fate and destiny play their own role in life. Â Q: Does the separation from the two children in Australia hurt you? BB: Sometimes it does. I haven''t seen them grow. But their mother was a tremendous woman. She brought them up single-handedly. She is no more unfortunately. Died of cancer. But the two children are absolutely brilliant. I rate my first wife very highly, in fact after my mother. Â Q: What went wrong? BB: I think it was the background. Mainly the education of the kids. She was not keen in the education system in India. Plus we had cultural differences. I was brought up in a Sikh family while she was a devout Christian. An honest to God Christian. Maybe she feared that the kids would be brought up as Sikhs. And I did not agree. My only regret is that I could not devote much time to this problem. Â Q: You got married again in 1979. Have you found happiness in your new family? BB: I certainly have spent more time with them. But I am still not sure if I have been a good husband or a devoted father. I tried. Maybe my deliberate commitment to the game is so intense that I might ignore other things. Â Q: A player, captain, coach, manager and a leading columnist. What is your next goal? BB: To have this indoor coaching school I have been working on. Â Courtesy BBC World </div> </div>

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