In the 1980s, on a turner in Bangalore, Bedi, approached by the Pakistani spinners for advice told them, “On a spinning track, the most dangerous ball is the one that does not spin.” It was a lesson offspinner Tauseef Ahmed and left-arm spinner Iqbal Qasim took to heart. They claimed nine wickets each in Pakistan’s 16-run victory in a low-scoring match. Bedi was called anti-national then by narrow, parochial minds. He responded that he was part of a brotherhood, and bowlers had access to his knowledge and experience any time, anywhere.

Spinners who have come with touring sides have made it a point to seek out Bedi. In recent years, Shane Warne, Daniel Vettori and Monty Panesar have all benefited from sessions with the articulate Bedi. “I told Jason Krejza to bowl more slowly,” he said speaking of the offspinner in the current Australian team. “He bowls too fast for an offie, and that is asking for trouble against batsmen like [Sachin] Tendulkar.”

Such generosity is not unusual in the game. Players who respond to a larger call than mere nationhood have contributed to its folklore. The Australian legspinner Arthur Mailey, chastised for showing the Englishman Ian Peebles his grip for the googly, said famously, “Cricket is like art. It is international.” He was speaking for all true cricketers.

Wasim Akram agreed with that sentiment when he helped India’s Irfan Pathan with some fine tuning. On an earlier tour, perhaps embarrassed by his deputy Javed Miandad calling Manoj Prabhakar a chucker, Imran Khan passed on useful tips to the Indian bowler.

In none of these instances did the opposition complain about receiving the advice. Or insult an ex-player for being helpful.

very true. but then maybe Bedi was a bit too eager to share his knowledge with the ozzies maybe he shld hav waited for a proper invitation or then again punter is a tasmanian and has alwas been irreverent....in both his batting and in his soundbites...

Is this the same Bedi that has been incredibly rude and ungracious for the past ten years regarding a certain Sri Lankan spinner? I dislike Ponting like the next man (he is a spoilt child that inherited a great team that is now crumbling around him) but dont try and paint Bedi as a saint.

disgraceful, ponting should be sacked.

Bedi is a saddist. He is not even invited in Indian Camp. I remember Azharuudin wanted Bedi to be removed as coach as he used to talk only negative. No wonder Pointing does not wanted him there.

It would be interesting to know whether Steve Waugh was invited or did he just land up when the Aussies were training. It is indeed shameful that the Aussies after accepting help from one of the finest spin bowler that India has produced, refuse to acknowledge the fact that they need help in the spinning department and chose to instead make it as though it was Bedi who had no other job and thus decided to make an appearance. The Aussies sure are not winning any friends whenever they clash with the Indians.

Pushing veteran politicians off the podium, showing utter disrespect towards one of the greats of the game, it seems Ricky Ponting is doing everything within his ability to loose respect in India.Or is it just one of those "cultural differences" that Gilli was talking about?

Lack of grace...with every passing day, Ricky Ponting just shows what an abominable choice he has been as a captain. Can't see Border, Taylor or Waugh....or Warne, for that matter, behaving with such boorishness. Has he ever really grown up? You deserve every insult thrown your way, every sledge, every barbed comment. Pathetic loser.

"I don't even know how Bedi landed up. He was at a party the previous night [at the Australian High Commission] and the next morning I see him at the nets!"

This quote doesn't sound disrespectful to me.
Ricky was just saying that he did not know how Bedi got there. Sounds like he was trying to be funny. I think you are reading too much into it.

Very truly said...but who really cares, those who were great and are still great, we know who they are. Those who have passed in greatness and just blabber, we all know who they are.

It was very disheartening to read this article. This is not the way to speak about a former great. I think Ponthing should take a leaf out of his former captain Steve Waugh's book on how to respect people and tradition

Nice one. Ponting for long had been the problem child of Australian Cricket. He is supremely talented, no doubts on that. But he is not a modest man by any measure. His cricketing skills have always eclipsed his erratic behavior. His arrogance is rubbing off on his teammates. That's probably the reason why, no matter how many runs he scores, he will never be spoken off in the same breath as Tendulkar, even in Australia, let alone in the rest of the world.

Sam

To expect manners and respect from Mr. Ponting is like expecting to bring back the dead!

Anyways, since I wasn't lucky enough to see Bedi in action or indeed his generosity in sharing his knowledge, your article Suresh, was to me quite informative. I'm glad to know that there are people like Bedi who can see beyond nationalistic narrow mindedness.

Ponting may have been unaware of the invite. Outside the field, maybe he doesn't call the shots any more and may be second fiddle to the team manager.

Hardly surprising from Ponting is it? He's all gracious and magnanimous when things are going well on the field. The moment his team looks like losing the toys come out of the pram. Last time it was a foul-mouthed tirade at Duncan Fletcher after being run out by a sub, this time it's a dig at Bedi. Any bets on 'next time'?

Was Bedi getting paid for this (at least his travel)?

Looking at the comments attributed to Ponting on this same website, it doesn't seem he was objecting to Bedi's presence. The author's taken something minute and tried to blow it way out of proportion.

If that was what Ponting said about Bedi, then I truly feel sorry for Australian fans who consider him the greatest cricketer. I think they need to stop and think what makes a great cricketer or a sportsman. Basically, its a combination of skill grace and humility two of which are seriously lacking in Ponting and that is why he will never reach the heights scaled by Tendulkar even if he crosses Tendulkar in runs. 50 years from now, those runs will be over taken anyway, but nobody change the kind of cricketer a star batsman really is forever. Ponting unfortunately is a little too late to get in the band wagon of humble yet skilled sportsman.

Well what do you expect from someone who has the vile habit of spitting into his palms and rubbing them together?

Ponting has been one of the worst ambassadors of cricket - he is a champion in this regard. His team members are also well trained by him. look the way they start abusing the batsmen when they cannnot get them out as they did to Gambhir today! If Ponting did not know his team coaches called Bedi for help, he isunfit to be a captain who does not know what is happening in his camp. If he knew and still says Bedi appeared uninvited, he is arogant and inhuman. Oh God! What a poor sportsman you have given to a great cricketing country called Australia? Is he from the land of the graceful Don?

Ponting owes Bedi an apology. He also needs to be ticked off for being rude & disrespectful to one of the world's greatest spinners. Imagine the furore Australian newspapers would have kicked up if the roles were reversed and if Kumble had made a similar comment about an eminent Aussie cricketer if his help had been sought during an Indian team's visit to Down Under.
Ponting might be a good batsmen who is just about knocking on the door's of greatness but the whole world knows that personally he is a boor with no knowledge of or regard for the game's spirit or past greats. He will stoop to any level to win (as at Sydney) and now that he is at the receiving end he is looking for ways to divert attention from his and his team's dismal performance. His attitude & behavior will cause him to lose whatever few sympathizers he has left in India & if he feels even a bit of remorse he will say 'Sorry' to Bedi at once. It may not help him win the series but it will at least win him a few friends

Well since when Aussies have shown respect for cricketers from other countries, let alone India. Not just cricketers, didn't this bunch push the BCCI president off during a prize distribution ceremony?
And by the way, stop hyping up the "knowledge sharing" concept. You think Pakistani bowlers took 18 wickets because of that one line from Bedi? Come on, that line sounds just like the crap Bedi would say. And if his advice is so valuable, white should have got 9 wickets today.

And still these guys have the guts to criticize someone like Sachin for not being available for handshakes after the match and call it a cultural differnce.What sort of culture is this,Mr Gilly?Dont you worry....Bedi is not gonna write any autobiographies!!

Ricky Ponting and grace are not the best pals. He became the captain more because of Shane Warne s antics off the field rather than his own skills on the field. It is difficult to loose matches with a team Ricky inherited, yet still managed the impossible by loosing the Ashes for the first time in 21 years.
Ricky Ponting rubs journalists the wrong side, picks up fight with his own team members in the field, and is synonymous with disgrace when it comes to making statements to the press about ex players.
Australia has produced the most wonderful and graceful leader in Mark Taylor. Ricky Ponting is clearly the ugly duckling when it comes to dealing with people, an important part of a leader s job.

I must say I was quite shocked to hear Punter's comment about Bedi. Even in the unlikely scenario that Bedi arrived at his own behest, is it too much to ask that he be treated with the respect that a cricketer and gentleman of his stature deserves?

Ponting is an exceptional batsman, but that is the only mark that he will leave on a game in which true success is multi-faceted. We can only hope that his lack of statesmanship and class, so nauseatingly demonstrated on so many occasions,will not over time create a broad brush with which all Australians are painted, and overshadow the contributions of exceptional Australian statesmen, such as Richie Benaud, who we in the West Indies had the pleasure of observing.

I think it is in Ponting's nature to think that just because he is Aussie captain, everything that happens anywhere in the world warrants a response of some kind from him. I'm not going to make a generalization and say that all Aussies are like that, or all captains, because they aren't. Ponting should learn that sometimes, the best thing to do is to just keep your mouth shut. He is doing a Gavaskar and is trying his hardest to lose any respect he might have earned for performances on the field. And he is succeeding. He would do well to realize that being remembered as a good human being is more important than being remembered as a good cricketer. Ricky, sometimes silence can speak volumes too, you know.

I am glad that someone actually brought this up. If Bedi was invited and he went as a part of an invitation. Then Ricky Ponting owes the whole country an apology. There are many ex-cricketers who routinely turn up uninvited at practice sessions. But Bedi is not one among them. Ponting continues to disgrace himself with great consistency

'Graceless' is the most accurate word to describe the Australian captain's comment. Maybe he didn't mean it the way it sounded but it's hard to give Ponting the benefit of the doubt here, given his and the Australian team's general public behaviour in the past. Only an Australian cricketer can be mannerless enough to insult someone offering free, solicited help to his squad.

Very well written piece. In the light of Adam Gilchrist's example of Sachin Tendulkar not shaking hands after defeats to illustrate cultural difference, this is very interesting. Ponting might be read in an Aussie register, but personally I feel rudeness is perceived almost universally.

Suresh,

As much as I like BS Bedi for his straight talking and I support Indian team, I think Bedi will be ok with Ponting's comment. Based on your blog, it seems like you have more problem with Ponting's comment than Bedi himself. I do not think Bedi needs a spoon feeder. He can handle it himself. For all we know, based on your article, Ponting may not have been aware of the invitation Australia’s bowling coach and team manager gave to Bedi. Finally, he did not say anything insulting. He expressed what he felt at that time. Come to think of it, not being aware of the invitation seems to be the only logical explanation. Ponting is too smart to intentionally make stupid mistakes. You know he is better than that.

Until now, I had a grudging respect for Ponting as a tough and relentlessly competitive Australian player, the kind who gave absolutely no quarter and didn't ask for one either. However, this latest instance of his showing a callous lack of respect towards revered players of yore seems to show a worrying trend. Only recently he took potshots at Gavaskar. His contempt towards Australian great Neil Harvey is well known and now his flippant remark regarding Bedi as well. Disappointing from the point of view of a Ponting admirer, such as myself. He could have just declined to comment on Bedi's help if he felt it was not useful/ if he really "had no idea why he landed up there."

From the quote you attribute to Ponting it is not clear that he intended to intimate that Bedi was a gate-crasher. That expression is often used in Australia. It is just as likely Ponting meant, simply, he wasn't aware of the sequence of events.

It's possible this is just a cultural misunderstanding.

Punter sees deep conspiracy in this. Bedi is trying to fool them in bowling towards India's strong areas. So that, punters spinners will fail again in Delhi.

You yourself have quoted Ponting as saying, “I don’t know how Bedi landed up there.”
Why would Ponting owe Bedi an apology for not knowing something?
Ponting is perhaps a victim here of his own organisation's poor internal communication.

I am not sure how to classify Ponting, to put it in lit metaphore he is acting like Lady Macbeth he sees ghosts and conspirators every where.
Would be much better if he concentrate on his game and keep his mouth shut atleast we can see some geniune contest.

You are kidding, arent you? Are you trying to manufacture an outrage here, trying to stir up some controversy? Ponting was not implying he gate-crashed practice. He was talking about how he didnt know by what machinations Bedi was invited. He did not know who invited him, how they got the invitation to him, or how they got in contact wtih Bedi.

A news channel even went to the extent of asking viewers if they approved of what Bedi did. This is as ridiculous as Ponting's dismissive comment about bedi. Good to read Menon's reaction.

This is absolute twaddle. Ponting has not insulted Bedi-he obviously didn't know Bedi had been invited and responded accordingly. Ponting leads Australia without fear or favour and makes an enormous contribution to these highly competitiveIndia-Australia Test matches. Ponting is leading a team which is down on fire power at the moment and is doing his utmost to win. Australia wins and they are branded as arrogant bullies, India wins and I see the same behaviour from the Indians. Khan's behaviour is an example. A Test match against Australia is seen by other countries as a true Test match and Ponting still as one of the prized wickets in cricket and he captains his country something Tendulkar-great player that he is- hasn't not been able to do. Ponting is a forthright individual who always speaks his mind, maybe he does respond sharply to criticism but that is what makes him a great leader. All great players have lean times and Ponting is no exception. Gavaskar has said worse things.

Hello, I also happened to have posted a comment here. If it was considered unfit to appear on this page, I would appreciate if I could be told the reasons about it. Thanks in advance.

Indian former great player need to be very specific & careful while sharing cricketing skills

So, you guys have mind-reading machines over in India now? Where can I get one?

well,Bedi once told the magazine that Gavaskar was a "destructive influence on Indian cricket", adding "he always liked power without accountability".One felt bedi loves thriving by making negative commenting on indian cricket's icons. Sometimes,one feels he deserved it.

Can we please have an India-Australia series without this garbage? With characters like Symonds, Harbhajan, Ponting and Gambhir, not to mention assorted idiots in the crowds and the press, this has become very tiresome. Bunch of over-privileged jerks.

Its a democratic country. Anyone can say anything. Why should Ponting apologize? He is free to say what he likes as long as he is not swearing at Bedi.

Actually, he should not be held responsible as long as he does not man-handle Bedi.

Your article is ridiculous Mr. Menon. Just because you have a pen, you can't ask anyone and everyone to apologize.

Don't be a hypocrite Mr. Menon. Have you ever thought Ponting might not actually know that Bedi was invited? Why should he apologize for telling the truth (if he actually didn't knew).

Get above criticizing every Tom, Dick and Harry and write something meaningful, which might actually be liked by your readers.

How good was it when Australia won the test in Sydney last year?!?! Shutup you pack of whingers. You wouldn't know sarcasm if you fell over it. That's all Ponting was doing! Maybe the BCCI can impose a law on no sarcasm, no sledging, no losses on close tests, etc. They have the money......

Well we know about ponting.....but bedi is not a saint ...he continuosly tries to upset this indian team .......may be because he is not wanted here.....he tries to find negativity in every positive situation......well Mr Bedi go ahead share some ore knowledge of yours....

Nobody owes Bedi an apology. Ponting said he doesn't know who invited Bedi. Given his past, I doubt if Ponting had the grace to thank Bedi for his time. But yes, I do agree that there was no malice in his comments.

This is what that Buddy Bedi deserved for making jealousy comments against our great Muralitharan.

Eat for more dust Bedi ..
cheers

Guys,

I would reaquest those who claim Ponting was not implying anything or it's a matter of cultural difference to stop bull shitting. Everyone knows ponting is a real crook. He can never make a great cricketer no matter how many centuries he make.

If you guys watched the video of Ponting saying this at the press conference, you'd realise that his reaction was not one of surprise at finding Mr.Bedi there. But, it was more of a smirk! So stop defending Ponting. Mr.Bedi was only trying to help. Just like Wasim Akram helped Irfan Pathan. Ponting is a great player and a captain. But he is a bad sportsman.

I agree with the general opinion that Ponting should be repremanded for his comment. Bishen Singh Bedi was a player who always believed in sportsmanship and fairness when playing the game. That is why he hepled Denis Amiss, that is why he declared India's innings in the West Indies when the West Indian bowlers were more intent in hurting the batsmen than in playing (incidentally this is not something that was considered even in the Ashes bodyline series), that is the way a true sportsman should behave as the contest comes alive only when the players are evenly matched.

Imagine teaching the opposition the tricks you have and then still get him out - shows how good you are.

Ponting needs to be pointed to the nearest social behaviorial class at his own expense.

Undoubtedly Ricky is arguably the most immature caption in world cricket today. But on this one, I think he was just ignorant and would pardon him here.
There are bound to be questions, especially when he does the things he does. Sigh...