Former Indian Cricketer Madan Lal slammed Indian skipper Rohit Sharma over his comments on asking the players are adapt to play in different batting positions to get themselves ready for the mega events. The Indian team management seems to be in confusion about defining the roles of the middle batters in ODI cricket, as they were looking for versatility in the middle order.
Team India has been blown hot and cold in all three formats failing to produce an impactful performance in the ICC events as their last trophy came in the 2013 Champions Trophy and the Men in Blues’ preparation for the ODI World Cup came under the scanner following their inconsistent performance in the West Indies white-ball tour.
In India’s squad announcement for the Asia Cup 2023, Rohit Sharma revealed that there is no fixed position in India’s batting order, as the team management wants every batter to be ready to play at any place based on the match situation and conditions.
Commenting on the opinion of the Indian skipper, former Indian selector Madan Lal wasn’t too pleased with the answer of the Indian skipper as he urged the specialized batters to bat at specific positions and reckons that the players will not gain confidence batting at the different positions in the team and believes that the middle order batter needs to build on their innings before taking on the bowlers in the final few overs.
“You said, you have asked everyone that you can be asked to bat anywhere. I don’t agree. Specialist batters should bat in their preferred positions. If India wants to win the Asia Cup and World Cup, they need good performances from No.4 to No.8. They are the ones who make the game while batting in the middle overs.
“If you keep shuffling your batting order then no one will gain confidence. Yes, you can change one or two guys depending on the match situation but every player should know their role and what they are required to do to score runs in that middle phase. This is not T20 where you just go and bat one away and hit your way out.
“Here, you have to build your innings. If your top-order starts well then your middle-order needs to carry that momentum to put up a good total and if the top-order fails then also if the players in the middle bat well you can get to a good total. So it’s a specialist position. I felt weird that the captain said anybody can bat anywhere,” Madan Lal said.
India won their last ICC title in 2013. Since then, India has advanced to the ODI World Cup semifinals in 2015, the T20 World Cup final in 2016, the ODI World Cup final in 2019, and the 2021 and 2023 WTC Final but could not go one step further in the big tournaments as the team fell short of the title.
That Will Be The Biggest Outcome For India – Madan Lal On Asia Cup 2023
Madan Lal feels that India will get a clear picture of the fitness of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in the continental event and believes that it would be the biggest positive for the Indian team from the Asia Cup 2023 in Sri Lanka.
“We’ll get to know about the fitness of KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in this Asia Cup. If they are fit and they play well in the Asia Cup then that will be the biggest outcome for India,” Madan Lal added.
Team India has taken the gamble by picking KL Rahul and Shreyas Iyer in their squad for the Asia Cup, as they will return to the side without a match practice but the Indian stalwarts have been training themselves hard to prove their fitness in the continental event to give themselves the best chance to be part of India’s World Cup squad