Former West Indies cricket legend Brian Lara has urged current players to rediscover their passion for representing the Caribbean side, stressing that financial struggles and poor infrastructure shouldn’t be excuses for underperformance.
During the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards in Mumbai, Lara addressed the issues highlighted by Roston Chase, who had earlier spoken about the team’s financial and infrastructure problems following their Test defeat to India in Ahmedabad. Lara agreed these were valid concerns but insisted that true commitment to West Indies cricket must come from within the players.
“Do You Really Want to Play for West Indies?” – Lara’s Bold Question
“𝑰𝒇 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒈𝒆𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒅𝒐𝒏𝒆, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒑𝒊𝒕𝒂𝒍 𝒕𝒐 𝒅𝒐 𝒊𝒕,” 𝑳𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒂𝒅𝒎𝒊𝒕𝒕𝒆𝒅. “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒕𝒊𝒎𝒆, 𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝑹𝒐𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒏 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒈𝒖𝒚𝒔 — 𝒅𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔? 𝑻𝒉𝒂𝒕’𝒔 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒎𝒐𝒔𝒕 𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒃𝒆𝒄𝒂𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒂 𝒘𝒂𝒚.”
Lara reminded players that previous generations also faced similar hardships but continued to perform with pride and determination. He cited legends like Viv Richards, who thrived despite limited facilities, and emphasized that passion for the maroon jersey once defined Caribbean cricket.
“𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝒑𝒂𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒘𝒂𝒔 𝒅𝒊𝒇𝒇𝒆𝒓𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒃𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒏. 𝑰 𝒖𝒓𝒈𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒏𝒈 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒘𝒐𝒏𝒅𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒖𝒍 𝒐𝒑𝒑𝒐𝒓𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒊𝒕𝒚,” 𝑳𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅.
Balancing Passion with Financial Reality
While encouraging dedication, Lara also acknowledged the financial disparity between franchise leagues and international cricket, saying he couldn’t fault players for seeking better-paying opportunities. However, he believes Cricket West Indies (CWI) must create a sustainable system that allows players to balance both commitments.
“𝒀𝒐𝒖 𝒄𝒂𝒏’𝒕 𝒃𝒍𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒂𝒏𝒚 𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒍𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒘𝒂𝒏𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝒆𝒂𝒓𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒓𝒐𝒖𝒈𝒉 𝒇𝒓𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒉𝒊𝒔𝒆 𝒄𝒓𝒊𝒄𝒌𝒆𝒕,” 𝒉𝒆 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑩𝒖𝒕 𝒘𝒆 𝒎𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒅 𝒘𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒕𝒐 𝒎𝒂𝒌𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝑾𝒆𝒔𝒕 𝑰𝒏𝒅𝒊𝒆𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒏𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒊𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒆𝒎𝒐𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒍𝒚 𝒓𝒆𝒘𝒂𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
He compared the situation to global football, citing Lionel Messi, who has always represented Argentina despite spending his club career abroad. Lara argued that countries like Australia and England have managed to maintain player loyalty, and West Indies must follow suit.
Call for Stronger Domestic Performances
Lara also expressed concern over West Indies’ weak batting lineup, noting that none of the current players touring India average over 30 in Tests. He urged selectors to prioritise first-class performance over potential and allow young players to mature within the domestic circuit before stepping up to international level.
“𝑰 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒍𝒊𝒌𝒆 𝒕𝒐 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒓𝒐𝒏𝒈𝒆𝒓 𝒇𝒊𝒓𝒔𝒕-𝒄𝒍𝒂𝒔𝒔 𝒑𝒆𝒓𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒆𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒍𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒔𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒏𝒕𝒆𝒓𝒏𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒐𝒏𝒂𝒍 𝒔𝒄𝒆𝒏𝒆,” 𝑳𝒂𝒓𝒂 𝒔𝒂𝒊𝒅. “𝑩𝒂𝒄𝒌 𝒊𝒏 𝒎𝒚 𝒅𝒂𝒚, 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒕𝒐 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌 𝒓𝒆𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒔 𝒃𝒆𝒇𝒐𝒓𝒆 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒈𝒐𝒕 𝒊𝒏.”
He cited examples like Graham Gooch, Adam Gilchrist, and Mike Hussey, who peaked later in their careers, suggesting that patience and experience are key to long-term success.
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