India legend Bishan Bedi passes away aged 77

The India stalwart had been battling a prolonged illness and had also undergone a number of surgeries in recent times.

Bedi was a master of his craft as a player, bamboozling batters throughout a 12-year Test career for India and taking bundles of wickets in domestic cricket both in India and England, earning him a place in the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.

Over the years, Bedi donned several roles in the field of cricket. He began as a cricketer and was also briefly the manager of the India cricket team. Bedi was a part of the famous India spin quartet of the era, which also featured Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chandrasekhar and Srinivas Venkataraghavan.

Bedi made his Test debut at Eden Gardens in 1966 and finished off his career at The Oval in 1979. He played 67 Tests in all, with 266 wickets to his name at an average of 28.71. He picked 14 five-wicket hauls and a single ten-wicket haul during his career. His career-best figures of 7/98 came against Australia at the Eden Gardens in 1969.

He also had a brief career as an ODI cricketer, a format which came to prominence in the latter stages of his career, when he took seven wickets in his 10 games.

ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice expressed his sorrow at Bedi's passing. He said that the spinner was one of the masters of flight and turn who would be remembered for years to come.

"It’s sad to hear of the passing of Bishan Bedi. I would like to extend heartfelt condolences from everyone at the ICC to the family of one of the greats of the game and one whose exploits in Test cricket will be remembered for a long time," Allardice said.

"He was the kind of spinner who could excel in different conditions and would have been one of the greats in any era."