Keeping an eye on a young Kapil Dev, later Sachin Tendulkar or Kumble, Bedi was always invested in cricket.

October 25, 2023 12:08 am | Updated 11:58 am IST

Part of the famous spin-quartet, he was the first among equals despite the generous manner in which he always gave credit to Erapalli Prasanna, B.S. Chandrasekhar and S. Venkataraghavan. His numbers — 266 Test wickets and 1560 First Class scalps — are staggering.

An action that was easy on the eye and one that held many unfathomable secrets for befuddled rivals, followed by a twinkle in his eye and the propensity to guffaw remained the eternal blend of a fine professional soaked in the amateur spirit.

Playing for India or plying his trade in English Counties, Bedi found eternal friendships. One such was with Pakistan’s Intikhab Alam, now a distraught friend struggling with grief. Bedi remained a man of the world and knowledge had to be shared, be it with Anil Kumble, Shane Warne, Monty Panesar or Sunil Joshi. Not for Bedi the rigid boundaries of hyper-nationalism or regionalism.

Bedi could be affectionate and abrasive, he held no punches back but he cared deeply.

Keeping an eye on a young Kapil Dev, later Sachin Tendulkar or Kumble, Bedi was always invested in cricket.

“Hello young man,” would be his hearty greeting before a pithy observation, about a match in progress or a world in crisis, emerged. Much like the great Michael Holding, Bedi had a wide perspective.

He never believed in monopolies and preferred nuance. Ever the contrarian with a good heart, Bedi spoke his mind about the BCCI or the local Delhi District Cricket Association. Not for him the dull word or the mask of political-correctness. His departure leaves the world poorer.

An old cricketing stereotype about India entirely revolved around wristy batters and wily spinners. The willow-wielders with their wide bouquet of aesthetic shots were expected to defy geometry on the turf. The practitioners of the slow-art were supposed to spin a web, luring perplexed batters to their doom. This was essentially about poetry at one end while a lullaby held the other point of the spectrum.

How about some rock-and-roll that rested on fast bowlers? Well at one point, gentle coughs ensued, throats were cleared and a whisper traipsed into waiting ears: “Oh they are supposed to just take the shine off the ball before the Bedis, Prasannas, Chandrasekhars and Venkataraghavans spun their wares.” Indian speed merchants were deemed non-existent or at best were relegated to the realm of being an afterthought.

But do take a leap backwards in time, revisit India’s first ever Test against England at Lord’s in 1932. The visitors may have lost that game but its seam bowlers, specifically Mohammad Nissar and Amar Singh, were deemed potent, incisive and truly living up to that moniker ‘fast’.

The 1947 Partition may have affected the overall fast bowling resources available to India but the nation always found key men who could run in hard and bowl at a zesty pace, even if the speeds were not the kinds that the once mighty West Indians clocked.

Flagbearer

Over the decades, many pacers emerged with Kapil Dev being the initial flagbearer since his debut during the Pakistan tour in 1978. Standing in the slips, Sunil Gavaskar smiled as the ‘Haryana Express’ clattered a few helmets with his bouncers. Later, Javagal Srinath, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma extended the tradition and now this is the era of Jasprit Bumrah.

If the earlier mentioned pacers had a classical air in their approach to the craft or in the run-up to the crease, Bumrah is one of a kind. His pre-delivery routine of a walk, followed by winnowing steps almost seems as if he is yet to decide whether to run or just stay gentle. But in those seconds, suddenly the limbs twitch, the legs blur and he arches backwards before unleashing a thunderbolt.

As bowling actions go, this may not seem bio-mechanically sound. Generating pace largely from the shoulders while using the back muscles as a catapult, can affect the body, especially the upper half. This isn’t a Michael Holding emerging from a run-up that gathers consistent speed, this is like a car with a sluggish battery on a winter morning but one which without any warning knocks down the garage door and rushes past. But it has suited Bumrah and it is a credit to all his coaches that they have not tried to alter the basic template of his bowling action.

The nurturing of Bumrah is like how Sri Lanka looked after Lasith Malinga, famous for his slingy action. And while Sri Lanka got its rewards, India is reaping the benefits too as Bumrah, as unorthodox as they come, has carved a space in the bowling pantheon.

Having made his India-debut in 2016, Bumrah has climbed the rungs, scattering stumps, drawing edges and doing the ‘eagle has flown’ post-wicket celebration. He also found an ally in Mohammad Shami, proving that old adage about fast bowlers hunting in pairs, while the other Mohammad (Siraj) too has been a good foil.

It is never easy being a top athlete. With seasons merging into each other, bodies tire, limbs creak and the mind yearns for solace. Bumrah is no exception and since he is a dispenser of the fast and furious skill-set, injuries were inevitable.

A corrective surgery on his back was deemed essential and it ruled him out of India’s squad for last year’s ICC T20 World Cup in Australia.

Even while others stepped up, his boots were too big to fill. Bumrah’s absence was felt, just like how Rishabh Pant is being missed now. The lanky seamer from Gujarat has an x-factor that India prefers unleashing upon overawed set of rival batters. The selectors waited, so did the team management. Bumrah did his rehabilitation well and when he got back, the spearhead revealed that he had lost none of his menace. His is not a smouldering approach, often he lets out a grin, and as fast bowling clubs go, this member is a smiling assassin.

Right from the time he made a comeback in a T20I game against Ireland at Dublin on August 18, Bumrah hit the straps immediately. Wickets were prised out and there was no holding back in his approach, which is difficult as muscle memory needs to be groomed afresh. Ask any biker after a fall and a resultant fracture, there is always a hesitation to stretch that particular arm or leg that got bruised as the mind gets defensive. It is the same with top-flight sportspersons but they always find a way to get back, and in the case of Bumrah he has been doubly quick in reverting to his regular path.

In his element

Be it the subsequent Asia Cup in Sri Lanka or the ODIs against Australia, Bumrah has been in his element. It is a welcome trait that has found a bigger stage in the current World Cup, a truth that opponents like Australia, Afghanistan and Pakistan would testify. His yields include two for 35, four for 39 and two for 19. Striking with the new ball, as he did against Australia and Afghanistan, or causing havoc in his second spell, which found expression against a befuddled Pakistan, seemed so natural from him. Great cricketers impose their will on the game and Bumrah has that special ability.

The deliveries he uncorked to disturb Mohammad Rizwan and Shadab Khan’s stumps were from the top-drawer. One of the finest deliveries ever bowled in the history of cricket was the one that Wasim Akram scripted against an unsuspecting Rahul Dravid in the Chennai Test during the 1999 series. There was both venom and just a hint of movement as the ball slithered past Dravid’s wide blade and breached his citadel.

The ones Bumrah sprung in the middle overs against Pakistan had a similar verve. Pace, bounce, seam and swing, cutters and slower balls, are all part of Bumrah’s arsenal. He is indeed a remarkable bowler and at 29, needs to be mindful of his body and ensure that he lasts many cricketing summers.

India’s current World Cup campaign and other battles ahead rest a lot on Bumrah’s lightning strikes. He remains a pure fast bowler and there is a touch of the amateur too as his batting skills much like Courtney Walsh’s, is that of a classic tail-ender, prone to strike hard or combust early, and the returns remain anaemic. Give him a ball though, red or white, and just say ‘play’ and it is then time to rock and roll!

If Muthiah Muralidharan didn’t take to the cricket ground, he may have been running a biscuit factory today.

But he did; playing the sport from an early age, with dreams of becoming a fast bowler for Sri Lanka. “When I was young, I just wanted to bowl really fast,” Murali tells us, recalling growing up at a hostel at St Antony’s College, Kandy. Someone pointed out that he did not have the height for that, and so he changed track, and bowled off-spin. And the rest, as they say, is history.

Muralidharan today sits tall among all-time cricketing legends. In a career spanning from 1992 to 2010, Murali — as he is fondly called — has bagged 800 wickets, making him the leading wicket-taker of all time in international test cricket.

His biopic, set to release in October 2023, is titled 800. Starring Madhurr Mittal in the lead role and directed by MS Sripathy, it hopes to narrate not just his impressive showing in the international cricketing scene, but also his many struggles along the way.

800’s journey started due to two childhood friends from Chennai; Tamil filmmaker Venkat Prabhu and Madhimalar, now Muralidharan’s wife. “They lived in the same neighbourhood in Chennai (RA Puram). When Venkat came over for lunch, I showed him all my trophies and he suggested that my life was ideal for a biopic. I was hesitant initially, but my manager said that it would help our foundation (Foundation of Goodness, his NGO in Sri Lanka), and we went ahead.”

Tamil star Vijay Sethupathi was originally selected to play Murali, but that decision hit a roadblock when local political leaders and members of the film fraternity suggested that the actor avoids the biopic since the cricketer once made comments perceived to be in support of the war waged by Sri Lankan forces against the LTTE. Madhurr Mittal, known for his role in Oscar-winning Slumdog Millionaire, walked in to play the lead. “He (Madhurr) has nailed it, be it my bowling action or my body language,” quips Murali.

800 will also take us back to Murali’s childhood in Kandy, where he first took to the sport. Recalls Murali, “My school had strict rules and regulations. There was a timetable — to get up, wash our clothes and study, but the time I looked most forward to was between 3 and 5.30 in the afternoon, when we went out to play. We had a big school ground, and at that time, there would be almost 600 people playing tennis-ball cricket. I started training seriously when I was eight.” When he won the Bata Schoolboy Cricketer of the Year in 1991 — thanks to a whopping 127 wickets in 14 matches — Muralitharan was noticed by the cricketing fraternity, which led him to be picked for a tour to England.

It was an impressive career, with teams across the world fearing his vicious spin when he came to bowl, but it was not one without controversy.

On the 1995 Boxing Day Test, a much-celebrated cricketing event, Muralidharan — well known for his unorthodox bowling technique — was called out by Australian umpire Darrell Hair for what he thought was an illegal action. The months that ensued were among Muralitharan’s most trying times, something that he says has been captured in detail in 800 as well.

How does he look back at that phase? “I’ll be honest with you. We didn’t have television when I grew up, and so, I have never seen myself bowl on television. I thought I bowled pretty much like my captain, Nuwan Kalpage (Sri Lankan cricketer). The first time I saw myself bowling on TV was when I played a day-night game when I was 17; even for me, it was very different. So, I can imagine the doubts in Darrel Hair’s mind. What I was most disappointed and shocked is that he chose the Boxing Day Test to call me out and not earlier; he had watched me bowl on previous occasions. But I have no regrets; my policy in life is to forgive and forget.”

Murali also had a successful stint with the Chennai Super Kings during the IPL’s first few years. He fondly remembers the camaraderie that existed with the team then, and says that he follows the journey of CSK till date. “IPL is special for every cricketer. When the idea of IPL was announced, I was excited and really wanted to play for Chennai, as I have close links with the city and the State of Tamil Nadu. I remember the late cricketer, VB Chandrasekar, telling me that N Srinivasan’s order during the first IPL auctions was to first bid for “Dhoni and Murali.” We were the first two cricketers to be selected for CSK, and we did really well in the first few years. It was like family,” recalls the cricketer, who subsequently played for Kochi Tuskers and Royal Challengers Bangalore and is now among the coaching staff of Sunrisers Hyderabad.