Kolkata (West Bengal) : Former India medium-pacer Madan Lal has stated that India have a lot of talent across formats despite India not winning the finals of any ICC events.
He was speaking during Youth Day programmer here on Friday. India recently ended as runner-up in the ICC ODI 2023 World Cup as a result of facing a defeat against Australia by six wickets in the final held at Ahmedabad.
The team faced a lot of criticism for consistently exiting from the knockout stages of the ICC events. A member of 1983 World Cup-winning Indian team, Madan Lal praised the Indian team for their impressive run.
'Winning ten matches in a row in the World Cup is always impressive. From that point of view, the performance of the current Indian team must be appreciated," he told reporters.
Rohit Sharma provided aggressive starts for the national side in the marquee tournament which helped the Indian side script a prolific run. Also, Virat Kohli was a key architect in the team's success.
Madan Lal praised both the batters and stated that they will play a vital role in the T20I setup. He also disagreed with the opinion that all-rounder Hardik Pandya is a similar cricketer like Kapil Dev.
"(Virat) Kohli is a smart batsman, who knows how to win matches. So both experienced batsmen (batters) are essential for the team. It is better not to compare with him (Kapil Dev) but Hardik (Pandya) is a good cricketer. He has been performing well in batting and bowling. Hardik will play for a long time. But it is better not to compare him with Kapil. Hardik is prone to injuries at times. Many people think that it causes problems for the team," Madan Lal added.
Most of the cricketers nowadays are not interested in playing Test cricket and prefer limited overs games. They don't even want to enter the Ranji Trophy. Madanlal criticised this mindset of cricketers for preferring shorter formats.
"Cricketers must play Ranji Trophy to develop mentality and correct mistakes. They should not forget that they have risen through the ranks by playing the Ranji Trophy," he stated. Madan Lal was effusive in praise for newcomer pacer Mukesh Kumar.
"Mukesh has the qualities of being a Test bowler because a bowler can be recognised not in T20 cricket but in Test cricket. Mukesh passed that exam. Mukesh is a future Test bowler," Madan Lal concluded.
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