“Do they have the cricket at heart?” - Brian Lara questions Roston Chase & Co after their innings defeat to India

Former West Indies captain and cricketing analyst Brian Lara has questioned the current skipper, Roston Chase, and the whole national team about whether they really want to play for the national cricket team. 

Speaking on the sidelines of the CEAT Cricket Rating Awards in Mumbai on Tuesday, October 7, Lara stated that the lack of funds and technology as the key reason behind the sharp decline in the national team’s game of cricket. 

"If you want to get things done, you have to have the capital to do it. So that is a major part. But at the same time, I would like to urge Roston Chase and the other guys to do they have the cricket at heart? Do they really want to play for the West Indies? And that is the most important thing because you would find a way. 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," Lara said at the above-mentioned event.

Most recently, the West Indies suffered a 0-3 Test series defeat to Australia a few months back. Moreover, they later suffered a 1-2 T20I series defeat to Nepal in the UAE. In the ongoing two-match Test series against India, they suffered an innings and 140-run defeat in the first Test.

Additionally, the national side has also been suffering from its core players leaving the national team for lucrative franchise deals across the world. On the other hand, Lara requested the West Indies Cricket Board to find a proper solution on this.

"The passion to play for the 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. So I agree with [Chase on West Indies' struggles for finances], but I still believe there is an onus on each young player to create that love and desire to play for West Indies," he added.

"I can't blame any single player for wanting to pursue cricket as a career outside of the West Indies, because the disparity in what's happening, playing five or six franchise leagues, compared to playing for the West Indies, is different [in monetary terms]. And you have to have empathy with that player. But you also have to feel that what can we do at home to make sure that that player, or future players, understand that playing for the West Indies is also very important," he concluded.

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