Akash Lal (born 6 October 1940) is a former Indian

first-class cricket First-class cricket, along with List A cricket and Twenty20 cricket, is one of the highest-standard forms of cricket. A first-class match is one of three or more days' scheduled duration between two sides of eleven players each and is officiall ...

er who mainly played for

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

and

Punjab Punjab (; Punjabi: پنجاب ; ਪੰਜਾਬ ; ; also romanised as ''Panjāb'' or ''Panj-Āb'') is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the northern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising ...

, and a former Indian team selector.

Life and career

Akash Lal was born on 6 October 1940 in

Kapurthala Kapurthala is a city in Punjab state of India. It is the administrative headquarters of Kapurthala District. It was the capital of the Kapurthala State, a princely state in British India. The aesthetic mix of the city with its prominent build ...

. His father Muni Lal was also a first-class cricketer who played in the 1930s and 1940s. His uncle Jagdish Lal, father of Indian cricketer

Arun Lal Arun Lal (; born 1 August 1955) is a retired Indian cricketer, and a cricket commentator. He played for India, as a right-handed batsman, between 1982 and 1989 was a gritty player though it didn't reflect in his batting average of 26.03. His ...

, had also played first-class cricket for various teams. Lal was a right-handed

opening batsman In cricket, the batting order is the sequence in which batters play through their team's innings, there always being two batters taking part at any one time. All eleven players in a team are required to bat if the innings is completed (i.e., if ...

who made his first-class debut for

Patiala Patiala () is a city in southeastern Punjab, India, Punjab, northwestern India. It is the fourth largest city in the state and is the administrative capital of Patiala district. Patiala is located around the ''Qila Mubarak, Patiala, Qila Mubarak ...

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 Sir Garfield St Aubrun Sobers, (born 28 July 1936), also known as Sir Gary or Sir Garry Sobers, is a former cricketer who played for the West Indies between 1954 and 1974. A highly skilled bowler, an aggressive batsman and an excellent fielder, ...

' spin bowling and a dropped catch, he was not selected. 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 Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar (; ; born 24 April 1973) is an Indian former international cricketer who captained the Indian national team. He is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen in the history of cricket. He is the all time highest run-scor ...

in the Indian team at the age of 16 for his first international tour against Pakistan. Lal was one of the three members of the panel who voted in favour of Tendulkar's selection.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lal, Akash 1940 births Living people Indian cricketers Delhi cricketers Punjab, India cricketers Patiala cricketers North Zone cricketers India national cricket team selectors People from Kapurthala