Current Indian team has average cricketers boring fruits in shadow of some excellent players, says Bishan Singh Bedi
Bishan Singh Bedi reckons the current Indian side has quite a few average cricketers enjoying the success by being in the shadow of two or three excellent players. Bedi also expressed his frustration on the Feroz Shah Kotla being renamed after former minister Arun Jaitley, who passed recently.
Often in the limelight for his explosive comments, Bedi did not hold back an inch in an interview with the Indian Express’ Sandeep Dwivedi. When asked about the improvement made by the Men in Blue in terms of their mentality, Bedi said he does not feel that the evolution can be claimed for all the players.
“It is a very individual (matter). (During our time), nobody could talk to Sunil Gavaskar. He would go into a cocoon. He used to shut himself off. That is preparing yourself to do what you want to do… You can excel but you cannot be perfect. If you become perfect, no one can get you out. So we can excel, and excellence involves mental strength in any walk of life… Not all Indian players have evolved over the years… There are two or three players who excel and carry the others along. There are average cricketers also. We have such cricketers in the Indian team as well. They are enjoying the fruits by being in the shadow of two or three excellent players,” Bedi told Indian Express.
A former cricketer, who has played with the likes of the great Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, Bedi feels that the current Indian skipper Virat Kohli has nearly unlimited power in the team.
“Virat Kohli is a great player and it would be difficult to expect the rest to reach his standard. I can’t think of another captain who enjoyed so many perks. Perks in the sense, so much freedom to do what he wants. The captain is supposed to be a co-opted member of the selection committee. Not even Tiger Pataudi,” Bedi said.
Recently, the Delhi Cricket Association announced that it would rename their stadium as the Arun Jaitley stadium, in honour of the former finance minister who passed away last week. However, Bedi cannot come to terms with the idea of a cricket ground being renamed in honour of someone who has no background in the game.
“I haven’t seen anything more preposterous — the ground will be called Kotla and the stadium Jaitley? What is Jaitley’s contribution to Delhi cricket? I don’t wish to be unkind to a person who is no more. But since you have asked me… This is so stupid. Politicians in sport, not just cricket, are a necessary evil. By and large, they have created such a situation that everybody, cricketer, badminton player, footballer, everybody has to come to their door. Earlier we were slaves of the British, now we are slaves of our own hukmaran (rulers). This slavery is not leaving us. Wankhede Stadium, Chinnaswamy Stadium, Chidambaram Stadium… none of them is (named after) cricketers. Maybe a stand will be named after a cricketer. It is very unfortunate,” Bedi added.