1983 World Cup-winner Madan Lal minced no words as he questioned Ajit Agarkar and the rest of his selection committee for constantly ignoring proven performers in domestic cricket and prioritising IPL when it comes to picking teams for Tests. His comment comes in the aftermath of the fallout from the home series whitewash against South Africa, which saw India being blanked 0-2. This is the second Test series loss on home soil under Agarkar and head coach Gautam Gambhir.
Ever since the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against Australia last year, the current management has been accused of playing too many all-rounders in the lineup and overlooking proven domestic performers, such as Sarfaraz Khan and Abhimanyu Easwaran, among others.
The two Tests against the Proteas saw India surpass the 200-run mark just once, and it came in the first innings of the first Test at Kolkata. Proteas spinner Simon Harmer wreaked havoc, picking the bulk of the wickets in the series as India batters failed to show any kind of technique.
“At times, I kept wondering that if you are going to pick players based on their IPL performances, then what’s the need for playing the Ranji Trophy. That’s your ultimate platform to find players who can bat for long, but it seems like they are turning a blind eye towards the premier tournament,” Lal told Sportstar.
“If your Test team is in shambles, the whole setup will go down. I am not sure if our players are too keen on playing Test cricket. Maybe, they are more interested in playing T20Is and ODIs,” he added.
‘Players not serious’
The former Indian pacer did not stop there, as he also put the players under the spotlight, questioning their commitment to playing the longest format. He put the temperament of the current players under the microscope, making a scathing assessment following the Test series loss.
“I got the impression that these players are not serious about Test cricket anymore. I would call it the IPL effect, where the mentality is to hit every delivery for a six or a four,” said Lal.
“But that’s not the case with Test cricket. Here, you need to hang in there and bat for long. That’s the only way you can score runs,” he added.
Madan Lal also said that the problems won’t be magically solved by removing Gambhir as the head coach, as there are multiple reasons behind the recent debacle.
“It’s a collective failure. It’s easiest to sack the coach. Yes, he has made mistakes, but putting all the blame on him is also not fair, because at the end of the day, the players, too, have made mistakes,” he said.
