Akash Lal
{{Short description|Indian cricketer (born 1940)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=September 2016}}
{{Infobox cricketer
| name = Akash Lal
| image =
| country = India
| nickname =
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1940|10|6|df=yes}}
| birth_place = Kapurthala, Punjab, British India
| heightft =
| heightinch =
| heightm =
| family = Muni Lal (father), Arun Lal (cousin), Jagdish Lal (uncle)
| batting = Right-handed
| bowling =
| role = Opening batsman
| club1 = Patiala
| year1 = 1957/58
| clubnumber1 =
| club2 = Delhi
| year2 = 1959/60–1968/69
| clubnumber2 =
| club3 = Punjab
| year3 = 1969/70–1975/76
| clubnumber3 =
| columns = 1
| column1 = First-class
| matches1 = 94
| runs1 = 5,622
| bat avg1 = 41.64
| 100s/50s1 = 15/26
| top score1 = 209*
| deliveries1 = 447
| wickets1 = 6
| bowl avg1 = 50.50
| fivefor1 = 0
| tenfor1 = 0
| best bowling1 = 2/21
| catches/stumpings1 = 55/–
| date = 30 December
| year = 2015
| source = http://www.espncricinfo.com/ci/content/player/26654.html ESPNcricinfo
}}
Akash Lal (born 6 October 1940) is a former Indian first-class cricketer who mainly played for Delhi and Punjab, and a former Indian team selector.
Life and career
Akash Lal was born on 6 October 1940 in Kapurthala, Punjab. His father Muni Lal was also a first-class cricketer who played in the 1930s and 1940s.{{cite web|title=Muni Lal |url-access=subscription |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/39/39984/39984.html|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=30 December 2015}} His uncle Jagdish Lal, father of Indian cricketer Arun Lal, had also played first-class cricket for various teams.{{cite web|title=Jagdish Lal |url-access=subscription |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Players/39/39259/39259.html|publisher=CricketArchive|access-date=30 December 2015}}
Lal was a right-handed opening batsman who made his first-class debut for Patiala in the 1957/58 season. He switched to Delhi for the 1959/60 season and played ten seasons for them. He captained Delhi for three seasons from 1965/66. He was in contention for getting selected for the Indian team in 1966. He scored 82 and 4 in a tour match against West Indies at Delhi, but due to his struggle against Garry Sobers' spin bowling and a dropped catch, he was not selected.{{cite web|title=Akash Lal|url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/india/content/player/26654.html|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=30 December 2015}} He moved to Punjab before the 1969/70 season and represented them until the 1975/76 season.
After retirement, Lal became a selector for the Indian national cricket team. He was part of the five-member selection panel that picked Sachin Tendulkar in the Indian team at the age of 16 for his first international tour against Pakistan.{{cite web|title=An emotional Akash Lal reminisces the day he selected Sachin|url=http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/akash-lal-selector-sachin-tendulkar-retirement/1/314130.html|publisher=India Today|access-date=30 December 2015}} Lal was one of the three members of the panel who voted in favour of Tendulkar's selection.{{cite web|title=It was 3-2 in Sachin's favour for 1989 Pak tour: Selector Akash Lal|url=http://zeenews.india.com/sports/cricket/sachin%20tendulkar%20retires/it-was-3-2-in-sachin-s-favour-for-1989-pak-tour-selector-akash-lal_770549.html|publisher=Zee News|access-date=30 December 2015}}{{cite web|title=Cricket ignores man who backed Sachin's inclusion|date=6 November 2013 |url=http://www.hindustantimes.com/cricket/cricket-ignores-man-who-backed-sachin-s-inclusion/story-m2NrXK1dyiIBD8Wx4YQbDJ.html|publisher=Hindustan Times|access-date=30 December 2015}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{cricinfo|id=26654}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lal, Akash}}
Category:20th-century Indian sportsmen
Category:Punjab, India cricketers
Category:North Zone cricketers