Madan Lal Height, Age, Wife, Children, Family, Biography & More

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Profession: Cricketer (Allrounder)

Hometown: Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh

Age: 73 Years

Bio/Wiki
Real name/Full name	Madan Lal Udhouram Sharma ^[1]CNN-News18
Names Earned	Madipa ^[2]Rediff.com, Madhi bhaa ^[3]The Tribune
Profession	Cricketer (Allrounder)
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 175 cm in meters- 1.75 m in feet & inches- 5’ 9”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Natural Black
Cricket
International Debut	ODI- On 13 July 1974 against England at Yorkshire Cricket Ground in Leeds, England Test- On 6 July 1974 against England at Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester, England T20I- Did not play Note- There was no T20 at that time.
Domestic/State Team	• Delhi • Punjab
Coach/Mentor	Gyan Prakash
Batting Style	Right hand bat
Bowling Style	Right arm medium
Batting Stats	Test Matches- 39 Innings- 62 Not Outs- 16 Runs- 1042 Highest- 74 Average- 22.65 100s- 0 50s- 5 0s- 7 ODI Matches- 67 Innings- 35 Not Outs- 14 Runs- 401 Highest Score- 53* Average- 19.09 Balls Faced- 645 Strike Rate- 62.17 100s- 0 50s- 1 0s- 1
Bowling Stats	Test Matches- 39 Innings- 63 Balls- 5997 Runs Conceded- 2846 Wickets- 71 BBI- 5/23 BBM- 6/47 Average- 40.08 Economy- 2.84 Strike Rate- 84.4 5-wickets- 4 10-wickets- 0 ODIs Matches- 67 Innings- 64 Balls- 3164 Runs Conceded- 2137 Wickets- 73 BBI- 4/20 Average- 29.27 Economy- 4.05 Strike Rate- 43.3 4-wickets- 2 5-wickets- 0
Award	"Cricketer of the Year” award by the Government of India in 1976
Personal Life
Date of Birth	20 March 1951 (Tuesday)
Age (as of 2024)	73 Years
Birthplace	Amritsar, Punjab
Zodiac sign	Pisces
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Dandru, Barsar, Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh
School	P.B.N. School, Amritsar
College/University	Hindu College, Amritsar
Political Inclination	Congress ^[4]CNN-News18
Hobbies	Travelling, Listening songs, Watching movies
Marital Status	Married
Family
Wife/Spouse	Anu Mohan
Children	Son- Kuunal Lall Daughter- Kanika
Daughter-in-Law	Sonali
Parents	Father- Udho Ram (Confectioner) Mother- Name not known
Favourites
Actor	Dharmendra

Some Lesser Known Facts About Madan Lal

Madan Lal is a former international cricketer who represented India in Tests and ODIs from 1974 to 1987. He was primarily an all-rounder who played a key role in India’s victory in the 1983 Cricket World Cup final.
Madan Lal

He had a keen interest in cricket since childhood. The first bat he owned was a washing cloth paddle. With this bat, he learned the basics of batting. The washing bucket was used as the wicket.

He first came to New Delhi in 1972 with just a train ticket in his pocket. Then he did a job in the State Bank of India (SBI) in Lajpat Nagar. At that time, he remained in his friend’s house for several months. He had difficulty facing the tough weather in Delhi. Recalling that time, he said,

“The city did not suit me. I would fall ill frequently. So I went back to Amritsar but returned after two months. I wanted to fight and make my place.”

He further adds,

“I shared a room with another cricketer [Jasbir Singh] in Mohan Nagar Sports Complex, and we’d travel to Delhi on a Yezdi, or sometimes by train. I struggled a lot.”

The first car which he got was a Fiat which he owned in 1983 after the savings he earned through various modes such as whitewashing (when playing club cricket in England), working part-time at a central-heating company, washing and ironing clothes, cooking, etc. His first house was a two-bedroom flat in Mohan Nagar after getting married. ^[5]The Hindu

He started playing Ranji games in his teenage where he took eight wickets in his third match against Jammu & Kashmir in the 1968-69 season. Again he impressed everyone in a match against Delhi where he finished with a match figure of 5 for 73 in 1971-72.
Madan Lal’s bowling action

A few years later, he shifted his team from Punjab to Delhi where as a result of his impressive form, he got selected in the Duleep Trophy squad for North Zone.

He also played a few unofficial test matches against Sri Lanka wherein in one match he took 10 for 102 runs. This spell helped him to bag a place in England’s tour side in 1974. He started well, picking up 7 for 95 against Worcestershire batting line-up. After his recent performance in the match against Yorkshire and ICC, in July 1974, he made his international debut against England at Old Trafford.
Madan Lal bowling

As Madan Lal walked out to bat in his debut match, England’s Mike Hendrick started bowling. The first delivery was outside off-stump which deviated inwards and flattened the off-stump. It then brushed against the middle stump and went on to knock the leg-stump. Madan Lal’s debut match ended with a golden duck. India was whitewashed 3-0.

Madan Lal later was omitted out from the first two tests against West Indies at home. India was trailing by 0-2, then Madan Lal was picked in the squad for the third test at Calcutta (now Kolkata). His inning started with 48 runs which included ten fours. India got all out for 233 runs. Then Tiger Pataudi gave the new ball to Madan Lal. He removed their star batters Gordon Greenidge and Alvin Kallicharran and ended his spell with a figure of 4 for 22. In the second inning, he took the wicket of Vivian Richards and helped India to win this match. In the fourth Test, he was gone wicketless and was dropped from the next match which West Indies won. With that Windies bagged the series 3-2.

In the 1975 Cricket World Cup, he was picked considering his all-round performance in the past. In that World Cup, he has been credited to bowl the first ball in the history of a Cricket World Cup. However, his performance in that World Cup was below average when he took his three wickets against a very weak East Africa side. In the next season, he took five wickets against New Zealand at Christchurch.

He was a regular member of the side considering his success with that bat. In the 1977-78 tour of Australia, he was picked in the squad where he took 5 for 72 in Australia’s second inning. He could only manage to play just one test in that series after that.

In 1978, seam bowler Kapil Dev made his international debut for India. This would mean that there is only one slot for a fast bowler in that team. Selectors were had to choose between Madan Lal and Karsan Ghavri. Selectors decided to go with Karsan Ghavri and Madan Lal was left out from the squad for four years- a span where he missed 35 test matches. In that time, he went to domestic cricket to hone his skills and also played league cricket for Enfield.

In the 1977-78 season, he scored 223 runs against Rajasthan. Next year, he took Delhi to victory with his match-winning spell of 8 for 80 in the final against Karnataka. In 1980, he took a career-best 9 for 31 followed by 4 for 33 to lead Delhi to an easy win against Haryana. This spell helped Delhi to clinch their Ranji title. With the bat, he scored 506 runs at 46.00 and 517 runs at 47.00 and took 35 wickets at 18.40 and 52 wickets at 14.57. In the next season, he ended up with 498 runs at 67.72 with four hundred and 42 wickets at 18.02.

For his splendid performances with both bat and with the ball, he was selected for the 1981-82 home series against England where he finished with 5 for 23 at Bombay and 5 for 85 at Delhi. This gave Madan a chance to open the bowling with Kapil Dev in the 1983 Cricket World Cup.
Team India’s 1983 World Cup squad. Madan Lal extreme right (sitting)

India won the 1983 World Cup because of several reasons. One was the inclusion of several handy allrounders in the team like Madan Lal, Roger Binny, Ravi Shastri, and Kirti Azad along with Mohinder Amarnath. ^[6]The Better India
Madan Lal with a replica of the Prudential Cup 1983

In the opening match against West Indies, he scored valuable 21 runs and took one wicket to take India to a narrow victory. This followed up with 3 for 27 against Zimbabwe. After that game, his form dipped but soon in the second game against Zimbabwe he had the eighth wicket partnership with Kapil Dev of 62 runs and then picked up 3 for 42. Then the match against Australia at Chelmsford was the last of the league stage. The winner will meet England in the semis. Batting first, India scored 247 runs. This required something big from Indian bowlers. Madan Lal didn’t disappoint his captain and took 4 for 20 and Australia was bowled out for 129 runs. India won the semis and entered the finals to face the mighty West Indies.
Madan Lal with Roger Binny during a 1983 World Cup match on 20 June against Australia

Chasing 184 runs to win, West Indies were on one stage 50 for one. Madan Lal then took the wicket of Desmond Haynes and Vivian Richards. The wicket of Richards has gone down to history books as one of the famous catches in Indian cricket. While Madan bowled a bit short, Vivian tried a hook shot and the ball went up in the air toward the square leg fielder. Kapil Dev ran a long distance back from mid-wicket and took the splendid catch. This dismissal is though remembered for the catch but Madan Lal was one who took that wicket. He didn’t stop here as he dismissed Larry Gomes and Windies had collapsed to 66 for four. Ultimately, West Indies got all out for 140 runs. Madan took 17 wickets in the tournament at 16.76 next only to Binny with 18 wickets.
That ball from Madan Lal in the 1983 World Cup final which took the wicket of Vivian Richards

Madan Lal celebrating after taking the wicket of Vivian Richards in the 1983 Cricket World Cup final

After that historic World Cup, he didn’t do well in a home series against Pakistan that followed. However, in an unofficial day and night match at Delhi, India required 198 runs for victory and 7 wickets fell on the score of 101. Kirti Azad and Madan Lal held a splendid eighth-wicket partnership and took India to an unexpected victory. But his poor form continued one after the other after which, Madan became an irregular member of the side.

For the 1985 World Series, Sunil Gavaskar was appointed the captain of the Indian team and he insisted on picking Madan Lal. Madan went on with his bowling and picked seven wickets at 16.57 with an economy of 3.34. In the next match at Sharjah, he took three more wickets at 14.00 with an economy of 3.23.

While his international career was on a verge of getting over and got restricted to ODIs, he started playing league cricket in the Lancashire League in 1986. As Chetan Sharma got injured after the first test at Lord’s, Madan Lal got the surprise entry in the team for the second Test at Headingley. He scored a crucial 20 adding 54 runs for the ninth wicket with Kiran More. After this, he opened the bowling with Kapil Dev and removed Wilf Slack, Chris Smith, and Bill Athey, taking 3 for 31 from 11.1 overs — almost identical to his figures in the World Cup final. He then scored 22 runs in the second inning and help India to win the series by 279 runs. This test match turned out to be Madan’s last test. He played a few ODIs later and ended his career with the home series against Pakistan in 1986-87.
Madal Lal bowls Chris Smith out on the 2nd day of a test on 20 June 1986 against England

After retiring from all forms of cricket, he remained the coach of the UAE team in the 1996 cricket World Cup. He also was the coach of the Indian cricket team for a brief period from September 1996 to September 1997. Before that, he was the coach of the India A team. He then became a member of the Selection Committee from 2000 to 2001. Later, when the Indian Cricket League (ICL) started, he became the coach of Delhi Giants until 2008 when ICL was replaced by IPL (Indian Premier League). He also runs his own cricket academy in Siri Fort Sports Complex, Delhi, and in Rudrapur, Uttarakhand. Talking about his stint as the founder of the cricket academy, he told,

“I have a passion for coaching. I believe in character building. The stronger the character, the better you are as a player.”

Madan Lal coaching young cricketers

In the domestic circuit, he helped Delhi win another Ranji Trophy title in the 1988-89 season taking 2 for 33 and 2 for 72 in the final against Bengal at the age of 38.
Talking about his daily fitness schedule, he revealed, ^[7]The Hindu

“I want to look smart and young. I love training and the beads of sweat on my forehead inspire me. Every day, I set aside 90 minutes in the morning for my workout. I love to train in the rain. You can’t imagine the joy it brings.”

Madan Lal in white uniform

Talking about his batting flaws in international cricket, he told,

“As a batsman, I struggled with short-pitched deliveries. I was not scared of the rising deliveries but had technical flaws. When I went to my coach, Gyan Prakash, in Amritsar, he sorted it out quickly. By the time I made a comeback to the Indian team, I had slipped from 6 to 8 in the batting order. I realized the delay cost me a lot.”
Besides the international format, he was a star player in domestic cricket for India with 10204 runs and 625 wickets.

In March 2009, he became the candidate for the Hamirpur Parliamentary constituency bye-elections in Himachal Pradesh against Anurag Thakur, son of BJP leader Prem Kumar Dhumal.
Madan Lal at on 4th PHD Global Sports Convention in New Delhi on Aug 12, 2016