The pain was clear on his face as India tightened their grip on the West Indies, but legendary batter Brian Lara still made it a point to visit the visitors’ dressing room after the second day’s play in the second Test.
The 56-year-old Lara is here alongside Viv Richards as part of the ‘Mission India’ campaign, aiming to help the financially struggling Cricket West Indies secure extra funds to revive their declining long-form game structure.
“Brian Lara did visit the West Indies dressing room after the end of the day’s play. He didn’t make any general address to the players but spoke separately to coach Darren Sammy, captain Roston Chase, and a couple of players,” a source familiar with the development told PTI.
“He was around for close to 20 minutes. The discussion was more generic about the health of West Indies cricket and the way forward.”
Lara had recently said at a private awards function that to get things done, you need capital. However, he also questioned the players’ intent back then.
“But at the same time, I would like to ask Roston Chase and the other guys… 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.”
“We did not have better facilities 30-40 years ago. Viv Richards didn’t bat on any better practice pitches or anything. We had the same grind, but the passion was different. The passion to play for West Indies was different.
“So I urge the young players to realise that this is a wonderful opportunity. And I am almost sure that every single one of their parents would have had in the back of their mind, their son playing for the West Indies, their son doing well for the West Indies because it meant a lot back in those days,” Lara had said.
(With agency inputs)
