IND VS BAN ODI: 'No passion, fitness, intensity!' - Madan Lal lashes out at Team India after series loss

Former coach Madal Lal has lashed out at Team India after their underwhelming performance in the 50-over format against New Zealand and Bangladesh.

India first lost the rain-marred 3-match ODI series in New Zealand and have then struggled in the ongoing Bangladesh series as well. The Tigers eventually clinched the 3-match series with heroic wins in the first 2 ODIs.

Blasting Rohit Sharma’s men for their poor performance, Lal said, "I have not seen the intensity in the team off late. I have not seen 'Josh' in them in the last couple of years. They are not looking like an Indian team at all. That passion of playing for the country is missing."

In his post-match presentation, the skipper had rued over India’s struggle with injuries and had said that the players can't come and play for the country half-fit.

In response to this, the 1983 World Cup-winning cricketer questioned who was responsible for the situation. "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," he remarked.

The 71-year-old also called out the embarrassing failure of India’s star-studded top order and the bowlers. "If you see the record, how many centuries they (seniors) have scored in the last three years? But they are experienced players and they should have performed. If your top order does not perform you are not going to win. Your bowling unit has become very weak suddenly. It looks like they are not going to get any wickets," he said.

Apart from KL Rahul’s hundred in December last year, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have all struggled to score a ton in the 50-over format of the game in the past couple of years.

Owing to their disappointing performance Down Under, Team India also crashed out of the T20 World Cup after losing to eventual champions England in the semifinals. Men in Blue also made an early exit from the Asia Cup earlier after losing their super 4 games to Pakistan and Sri Lanka.