MUMBAI: When Angad Bedi comes onto the cricket field to play a special match with HT City in Mumbai, he is literally a total sport. The actor is unable to shake the Indian Premier League craze that has taken over the nation. “This game has given me a lot. First of all a father who played cricket for the Indian team for 20 years,” he smirked as he picked up the bat. He's talking about one of the greatest bowlers India has ever seen, the late Bishan Singh Bedi.

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Bedi played professional cricket for Delhi until the U-19 level before giving it up to focus on acting and modeling.

“Main game se naraaz ho gaya tha,” he mentions without delving into details as to why he left. But today, he looks at it with a totally different view. “It was because of my dad and the game that I got discipline. This game gave me the attitude to never give up, take defeat in my stride. This is the only game that is compared with life, and it will always be, no matter what experiences have been with me. Now that my dad is up in the heavens, the closest thing to me is the sport,” he stated.

Bedi’s oldest cricket memory is of being punished by his father on the pitch. He recalls with a laugh, “He used to say ‘On the field, you are not my son, I am not your father, you are as good as anybody else. I have to set an example, and will have to punish you first so that people don’t feel I am favouring you in any way’ He said I will have to bear it. I wouldn’t understand, but now I feel whatever he said made sense. Today, I have made a career in films, all thanks to this sport and him.”

He still remembers the 400-meter frog and kangaroo jumps he would have to do. “I had to prove my mettle before getting into batting. My dad would say he doesn’t want to see my skill, but my fitness. Virat’s fitness has uplifted the team. He has set a fine example. T20 cricket has evolved so much. The fittest players are playing the sport. Their longevity is much higher than it was earlier,” he says as he takes a quick drinks break.

Bedi has two kids with his wife, actor Neha Dhupia-Guriq and Mehr. Bedi shares, “My son has, but he is too young, just two-and-a-half. He likes to throw the ball, he’s got the mannerisms of his grandfather (laughs) I just hope that he plays any sport, not necessarily cricket. Sport teaches you a lot, it is the highest leveller. That’s the best thing you will do for yourself. My passion is cricket, find yours.”

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Credit- Hindustan Times