Boom or bust? Examining the performances of 5 former Indian cricketers who became national coaches

#3 Madan Lal (1996 - 1997)

Madan Lal failed to inspire the Indian team during his short stint

Madan Lal had the shortest tenure as the Indian coach as he was at the helm for just one year from September 1996 to September 1997. During that time, India played some really ordinary cricket losing 23 of the 38 ODIs.

Their record in Tests during that period was even more abysmal as they won just 3 of the 14 matches in that one year. The four Test defeats included the shocking defeat to the West Indies in the third Test at Bridgetown in March 1997 when India failed to chase down a target of 120 runs.

The period seemed to be disastrous for Indian cricket as captain Sachin Tendulkar said that he stopped enjoying his cricket and started having doubts about himself. In September 1997, just a year into his job, Madan Lal was sacked by the BCCI for his 'inefficient' performance.

Lal expressed his surprise saying that he was shocked by the decision and that one year is too short a time for any coach to start delivering results straight away. Anshuman Gaekwad was chosen as the new Indian coach.