Daniel Vettori is my kind of cricketer: Bishen Singh Bedi

Daniel Vettori – Servant of New Zealand cricket for 18 years

Former Indian spinner, Bishan Singh Bedi, lavished praise on Daniel Vettori for his illustrious international career. Bedi, a fellow left-arm spinner, is one of the best men to judge bowlers having taken 266 wickets from 67 Test matches.

In his interview, the Indian spin-wizard heaped praise on Vettori stating, “I liked his attitude, his willingness to learn. He was a good listener – very thoughtful young man and not prone to the brashness we associate with today's youth. He's my kind of cricketer. I would like to wish him all the very best in his retirement.”

“I told Vettori how to bowl to Sachin”

Bishan Singh Bedi also spoke about his first meeting with Dan where he talked about how to bowl to Sachin.

The 68-year-old said, “I can't forget our first meeting. It was in Delhi before the India vs New Zealand one-dayer in 1999 at the Kotla. I happened to be at the ground and we had a chat. His question to me was, how would you bowl to Sachin Tendulkar. And I said, 'bowl to get him out.' Sachin in his prime really created panic among the opposition.

“I said to Vettori that many great players are of small size — Don Bradman, Hanif Mohammad, Sunil Gavaskar, Sachin Tendulkar and I feel Sachin is potentially a good caught-and-bowled material — 'you just have to toss it up and ensure he comes out and gets into your bait. At the same time, be prepared because he could come hard at you. You must believe that you can get him out.”

“I didn't see the game because I had to attend to some domestic chores. Next day, I read the newspaper: Sachin Tendulkar caught and bowled Vettori 0. I am told that he dismissed Sourav Ganguly as well. Sometimes, things just click,” Bedi revealed.

Vettori made his ODI debut at the age of 18 and went on to become the most capped player for New Zealand. He emerged as the highest wicket taker for the Black Caps in ODIs with 305 scalps. Dan, in his 113 Test matches, claimed 362 wickets and is only the third player (behind Kapil Dev and Ian Botham) to take more than 300 wickets and score 4,000 runs.