The legendary Brian Lara, who spent some time in the Sunrisers Hyderabad camp with India opener Abhishek Sharma, showered him with accolades.
“He’s something very special. Yuvraj Singh had a big influence on him. His bat speed, the way he hits the ball, the way he hits through the ball…” Lara told the media during the CEAT Cricket Rating awards in Mumbai on Tuesday.
“An amazing thing (is that) he would give me a call and even though with the success that he’s having in T20 cricket, he still wants to find a way to get into the Test team which is great for someone like that to think that big, is very special,” Lara added.
Despite the regional team’s long-standing problems, including as talent drain, a lack of infrastructure, and unstable financing, Lara stated that the struggling West Indies will “find a way” to get their act together in Test cricket if they truly have “cricket at heart.”
It is commonly known that Caribbean players, who are usually highly sought-after in franchise-based T20 contests worldwide, lack the patience necessary to succeed in the longer formats.
“I would like to urge Roston Chase and the other guys to (tell), do they have cricket at heart? Do they really want to play for West Indies? And that is the most important thing, because you would find a way. You would find a way,” Lara said.
“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 West Indies was different. I urge the young players to realise that this is a wonderful opportunity.”
Lara challenged the West Indies, who are presently on tour in India for a two-Test series, to demonstrate their true interests while also raising doubts about the future of Test cricket outside of the Big Three.
Making spectators interested in the traditional format is crucial, according to Lara, who cited the example of the inaugural Test match between India and the West Indies, which ended in three days in front of an almost empty Ahmedabad Stadium.
“When you look at the Big Three, you look at England versus Australia in the Ashes, or just recently, India playing in Australia (or) India playing in England, and you would think that there is no greater day of cricket to watch,” Lara said.
“I’ve watched India versus England at Lord’s and there is nothing to compare it. I hope that Test cricket does not die, but the viability of it in other nations, the smaller nations, the nations with the inability to bring huge crowds to the game or bring big sponsors to the game, you’re really and truly testing their funds.”
“I would rather like to find a solution to the problem than to say, ‘I give up and that’s the end of it’. The interest (in Tests in West Indies) is low. If you’re not doing well as a nation and if something else is popping up that’s more exciting, you can see it in the crowds.”
Lara stated that he feels grateful that he played Test cricket for 17 years.
“Not just in the West Indies, we just saw a Test match in Ahmedabad where literally there is no one at the Test match. It is waning, it is a situation. I appreciate the fact that my 17 years were spent playing majorly Test cricket and I would never give that up,” he said.
The board must figure out a means to keep Caribbean players from leaving for franchise cricket, according to Lara, one of the members of the CWI panel that was established after the West Indies were bowled out for their lowest-ever Test score of 27 in July.
“We discussed the state of West Indies cricket. The aberration of scoring 27 – nobody wants to do that. But that was not just the issue,” he said when asked what all points were discussed in that emergency meeting.
“The issue lies very deep and it’s something that I would say (that the) 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.”
“There’s also an issue, of course, with franchise cricket and the way how they pull some of the players away, weakening our strength. We have to find a way to do that in terms of there’s not pointing any fingers at anybody.”
