Fond Remembrance: Madal Lal, Kirti Azad, Sharmila Tagore attend Bishen Singh Bedi's prayer meeting

New Delhi, October 27

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A host of dignitaries, including ex-India cricketers Madan Lal and Kirti Azad along with Bollywood royalty Sharmila Tagore, on Friday, attended the prayer meeting of former India captain Bishen Singh Bedi, who died here on October 23.

Besides, the two 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team members, former India players Atul Wassan and Murali Kartik were also in attendance along with Bollywood veteran Kabir Bedi.

On last Monday, Bedi passed away at the age of 77 after battling prolonged illness.

Part of the famous spin quartet comprising Erapalli Prasanna, Srinivas Venkataraghavan, and Bhagwath Chandrasekhar, he claimed 266 wickets in 67 Tests in an illustrious international career between 1967 and 1979.

Bedi’s wife Anju Bedi, son Angad Bedi, his actress wife Neha Dhupia and other family members and friends also paid their last homage to former left-arm spinner during his Antim Ardas ceremony.

Both Azad and Lal mourned the demise of the spin legend.

“I remember him as a complete man. People say that Shri Ram had 12 kalas (art), Shri Krishna had 16 kalas and he as a human had all the kalas. He was a very knowledgeable person and I don’t want to talk about his cricket. We all remember him as a great human being, the one who made us all fighters,” Azad said.

Lal added: “I remember him as my ustaad, guru and mentor. We both come from Amritsar and we had the same coach (Gyan Prakash). So. I can’t forget him for shaping my career. This is a big loss because he was a legend. We miss legends for sure because their values are different. They shape you with knowledge, talk to you and one word from them can change your life.”