Kapil Dev, Mohammad Azharuddin attend Bishan Singh Bedi's funeral in Delhi

Bishan Singh Bedi, the former Indian captain, passed away at the age of 77 after battling prolonged illness and undergoing hospitalization on october 23. He had suffered a heart attack and a brain stroke two years ago and had recently undergone knee surgery. 

The funeral of the respected former Indian cricket captain was attended by several cricket legends, including Kapil Dev, Zaheer Khan, Kirti Azad, and Mohammad Azharuddin. A large gathering of mourners gathered at the cremation ground on Lodhi Road, Delhi, to pay their final respects and bid farewell to the departed captain. The funeral proceedings were conducted with solemnity and reverence.

Born in Amritsar in 1946, Bedi had an impressive career, playing 67 Tests for India and taking 266 wickets. He was a key member of India's spin quartet, alongside Erapalli Prasanna, Bhagwat Chadrasekhar, and Srinivas Venkataraghavan, during the period between 1966 and 1978.

In addition to his playing career, Bedi also served as the manager of the Indian cricket team in 1990 and was a national selector. He mentored talented spinners such as Maninder Singh, Sunil Joshi and Murali Kartik. Bedi was highly respected as an Indian captain, leading the team for nearly four years in Test cricket between 1975 and 1979.

Former Indian captain Kapil Dev, who played alongside Bedi, spoke highly of him, stating that Bedi inspired a generation of players and was a true legend of Indian cricket. He praised Bedi's leadership skills and his graceful bowling style and also emphasised on Bedi's positive personality and sense of humour.

“Bishanji inspired a generation of players in the country including me. I was fortunate to play alongside him and share the same dressing room. He was my captain, my hero, and someone I always looked up to, and I learned innumerable lessons from the game,” Dev said to News 18.

“There was so much grace in his bowling. He was able to bowl all day with rhythm and control thanks to his comfortable and well-coordinated movement and action. He possessed an unmatchable skill set, he made sure that the mood in the dressing room was light as he had an amazing sense of humour. He always encouraged youngsters and made sure to give importance to our game yet he made us believe that cricket was fun. He was a great player and a positive person,” Dev added.