Brian Lara slams West Indies for lack of passion after a crushing defeat to India in the first Test. Urges players to show more heart
India delivered a crushing defeat to the West Indies team in the first Test match played in Ahmedabad. Within three days, the West Indies suffered an innings and 140-run defeat.
Following this defeat, cricket legend Brian Lara expressed his anger at the West Indies players. Lara questioned whether the players even had the desire to play for the West Indies.
Speaking at the CEAT Cricket Awards in Mumbai, Lara said,
“It (finances) is a problem because if you want to do anything, back in the day 15-16, volunteerism was a big thing. You can get things done. You can get coaches. I was coached at a Harvard coaching clinic where nobody was paid.
So if you want to get things done, you have to have the capital to do it. So that’s a major part. But at the same time, I would like to urge Roston Chase (West Indies captain) and the other guys to, do they have cricket at heart? Do they really want to play for the West Indies? And that’s the most important thing because you would find a way.”
Lara said that while lack of money is a problem, players need to show passion for playing while wearing the West Indies jersey.
He also said that even in the past, they didn’t have great facilities. Yet, legends like him and Viv Richards played with passion.
Lara said, “I mean, we did not have better facilities 30-40 years ago. Viv Richards didn’t bat on any better practice pitches or anything. We had to do the same thing, the same grind, but the passion was different.
The passion to play for the West Indies was different. So I urge the young players to realize that this is a wonderful opportunity.”
How is franchise cricket attracting players?
Lara also said that due to the glamor of franchise cricket, many players are moving away from the West Indies team.
He said, “We discussed the state of West Indies cricket. The aberration of scoring 27, nobody wants to do that. But, the issue lies very deep.
And it’s something that Cricket West Indies is working on in terms of finding a better footing in terms of the foundation of the game, how we grow the game, the facilities that we have to improve on and finding a way for cricketers to be a lot more competitive.”
Lara suggested that Cricket West Indies should develop a strategy that prioritizes players playing for their country, similar to countries like Australia and England.
Lara also praised young Indian batsman Abhishek Sharma. He said that Abhishek’s passion and desire to play Test cricket makes him special.
Lara said that Abhishek had even asked him for advice on making it to Test cricket.
