'I haven't seen josh'- Former Team India head coach questions players' 'intensity and passion' for the National Cricket Team

Bangladesh vs India (Image source: Twitter)

Former Team India head coach and player Madan Lal has lambasted Indian players for their embarrassing performance in an explosive interview. Lal has gone so far as to question ‘intensity and passion’ of players and suggested that the team is heading in the wrong direction.

“Definitely the Indian team is not going in the right direction. I have not seen the intensity in the team off 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.” Deepak Chahar, who faced injury concerns in the past failed to bowl his full quota of overs in the second ODI against Bangladesh.

Lal also commented on Rohit Sharma’s observation after the loss wherein he had questioned players’ fitness and said, “can’t have guys coming in to play for country half fit.”

Take rest during Indian T20 League- Lal

Speaking of the same, Lal said, “It is 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 Indian T20 League matches. Your country comes first. If you are not going to win ICC trophies, your nation’s cricket is going to go down.”

“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.” The 71-year-old also criticised Indian bowlers for their performance.

“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 specialized cricketers for different formats. Why not have different players for different formats? All countries are doing it and India should also do the same, “ concluded Madan Lal.