Former coach Madan Lal slams Indian Team following their ODI series loss in Bangladesh, saying the team lacked “intensity and passion” and was heading in the wrong direction.
Madan Lal Slams Indian Team
Indian cricket team was scheduled to play 3 match ODI series during their Bangladesh tour of 2022. Rohit Sharma led the Indian ODI squad have failed to defeat Bangladesh in the must-win match on December 7.
After a heartbreaking defeat in the 2nd ODI match, team India lost the 3-match series as they already lost the first match by just 1 wicket. Following their series loss, team India received a ton of negative comments particularly the Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has been thrashed by netizens.
Following the continuous failures in the international series, BCCI is in discussion of appointing a new coach and separate captain for the Indian T20I squad.
“Definitely the Indian team is not going in the right direction. I have not seen the intensity in the team of late. I have not seen ‘Josh’ in them in the last couple of years,” Lal told PTI in an interview.
“They are not looking like an Indian team at all. That passion of playing for the country is missing. Either their bodies are too tired or they are just going through the motions. And this is a serious concern.”
Madan Lal on Rohit’s Observation
Highlighting the fitness issue of players, skipper Rohit Sharma said that India “can’t have guys coming in to play for the country half-fit”.
Referring to Rohit’s observation, Lal, who is a member of the 1983 World Cup winning team, said: “It is a very sad thing. If the captain is saying this then something is wrong somewhere.” “Who is responsible for this? Are trainers responsible for this? Why are unfit players going? You are playing international cricket and the result is in front of you.
“If they want to take rest they can take rest during IPL matches. Your country comes first. If you are not going to win ICC trophies, your nation’s cricket is going to go down.”
The former coach put the blame on India’s top-order batters for executing not-so-impressive performances in recent times.
“If you see the record, how many centuries they (seniors) have scored in the last three years? And how many in the last one year? With age factor, your hand-eye coordination slows down.
“But they are experienced players and they should have performed. If your top order does not perform you are not going to win.”
Madan Lal also pulled up the bowlers for their lack of intensity. “Your bowling unit has become very weak suddenly. It looks like they are not going to get any wickets. After 69 for 6, Bangladesh managed to score 271. So what is all this going on?”
Asked if there was a need to have different players for different formats, Lal said: “Every country is playing like that. Must have specialised cricketers for different formats. Why not have different players for different formats? All countries are doing it and India should also do the same.”
India will play their last match of the 3-match ODI series on December 10 in Zahur Ahmed Chowdhury Stadium, Chattogram.
