West Indies cricket might have beaten Pakistan 2-1 in the ODI series thanks to Shai Hope as the captain, but the bigger question about the health of the game in the Caribbean still looms large. The formerly dominant unit has been battling with the issue of consistency, as was evidenced by their outrageous disintegration, to only 27 runs in a day-night Test against Australia. Back-to-back losses in two T20I series against Australia and Pakistan further highlighted the nature of the problems those players had to contend with. Such low scores triggered Cricket West Indies (CWI) to call an emergency meeting, where they discussed the future of the club attended by legends like Clive Lloyd and Brian Lara.
Speaking in an emotional Instagram post, Brian Lara has now asked CWI to employ the services of the retired icons, such as Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, and Dwayne Bravo, to take part in the mentoring of the kids. Lara noted that these giants, whose experience was tremendous throughout international cricket and the world franchise leagues, could end the communication gap and offer significant advice to enable the West Indies to find its identity once again.
This has been compounded by the sudden retirement of Nicholas Pooran, who was considered one of the pillars on which the team would look up to in the future, and later, Andre Russell made a decision to retire from international duties earlier this year. This has resulted in a talent drain in the team, leaving the side weaker, and although Darren Sammy is the current head coach, results have been patchy in his tenure in charge.
Lara views that the leadership of Gayle, Pollard, and Bravo, together with insight, may inspire people, raise standards and provide a feeling of cause to players. He emphasised that the established trio is eminently placed to offer clarifications since they charted smooth grounds in global franchise cricket when in the service of the West Indies. Failing to retain both the 2023 ODI World Cup and a future 2025 Champions Trophy, there is an intense need to take prompt action, as Lara has shown.
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