A legendary left-arm spinner, Bishen Bedi had a suppleness and rhythm to his bowling action that belied his solid frame and for a while allowed him to become India's greatest wicket-taker.

With a flick of the wrist and any number of subtle variations that he had either learned or invented, he would tease out batsmen with changes of pace and bounce, orthodox leg-breaks and inswinging arm balls.

Constantly loosening his limbs whilst not bowling he was also instantly recognisable by the range of colourful patkas that he wore.

A first-class cricketer at 15, Bedi was playing against the West Indies five years later and appeared in 67 Tests, taking 266 wickets. Only Kapil Dev and Anil Kumble have taken more for India.