IPL 2020: 'They have such great coaches, they should know what is required' - Madan Lal on Sunrisers Hyderabad's team selection
Former Indian seam bowler Madan Lal has questioned the Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) team coaches for not including Kane Williamson in their playing XI.
He made this observation while reviewing the Hyderabad-based franchise's defeat in yesterday's IPL 2020 encounter to the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) during a discussion on Sports Tak.
Madan Lal lauded all the KKR bowlers, Pat Cummins and Varun Chakravarthy in particular, for restricting Sunrisers Hyderabad to a below-par score.
"All the KKR bowlers bowled very well. Cummins bowled extremely well and Varun Chakravarthy, their freak leg-spinner or whatever we can call him, he also bowled extremely well. So, if we see overall 142 was not such a good score."
He also spoke in glowing terms about the manner in which Shubman Gill and Eoin Morgan managed the run chase and took their team to victory.
"I would like to praise Shubman Gill and Eoin Morgan because they read the situation and batted according to that and won KKR the match. That is how you become big players when you win your team the match in such situations."
While talking about the Sunrisers Hyderabad batting effort, Madan Lal pointed out that Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey could not take the team to a match-winning score despite the runs they scored.
"When you talk about Wriddhiman Saha and Manish Pandey, that is the difference between them and Jonny Bairstow and Warner. When the latter two play, they play match-winning innings. Manish Pandey made very good runs, no doubt about that, but he did not take his team to a situation where they could win the match."
The 1983 World Cup-winning pacer criticised the duo for getting dismissed at a crucial juncture and leaving the team in the lurch.
Click here to find out who won yesterday IPL match.
"Both are international players, they were required to take their team to a score where they could have fought. Getting out at a critical stage and getting the team stuck causes the most problems."
Madan Lal on Sunrisers Hyderabad's team selection
On being asked if Sunrisers Hyderabad should not field Kane Williamson in their playing XI, and if so, who should be left out, Madan Lal responded that the Kiwi captain should play ahead of Mohammad Nabi.
"First of all, I will keep Nabi out. Because they need a batsman instead of him."
He also questioned the acumen of the Sunrisers Hyderabad coaches, due to them not being able to select a balanced team.
"They have such great coaches, they have got so many foreigners from outside, they should know what is required when making a team."
Madan Lal signed off by stating that Kane Williamson is a dependable batsman who would not let the team down in crunch situations.
"Kane Williamson is a very sensible batsman, he knows how to run the game. He is not like others who will leave you in the lurch in the middle."
Sunrisers Hyderabad probably missed a trick yesterday by not sending Mohammad Nabi up the order, considering his terrific form in the recently concluded CPL. Although they could opt to play Kane Williamson instead of the Afghanistan all-rounder if the former is fit, it would reduce the options in their bowling attack.