Former West Indies cricket star Brian Lara has criticized the Indian Premier League (IPL) after West Indies’ embarrassing batting performance against Australia. In the third Test match, West Indies were all out for just 27 runs, which is the second-lowest total in Test history.
This match was the first-ever Day-Night Test at Sabina Park, and Australia won by 176 runs, completing a clean sweep in the series. Australian bowler Mitchell Starc took six wickets, and Scott Boland took a hat-trick, making things even worse for the West Indies.
Talking on a podcast called Stick To Cricket, Brian Lara said that modern West Indies players are using international matches just to get noticed by T20 leagues like the IPL, instead of focusing on national pride. He said things were different in his time when players worked hard in first-class and county cricket to earn a spot on the national team.
“Now, players use the West Indies team as a way to get contracts. That’s not how it used to be,” Lara said.
Former England cricketer David Lloyd, who was also on the podcast, blamed the cricket boards of India, England, and Australia. He said they take most of the money through big broadcast deals, which leaves smaller teams like West Indies, New Zealand, and Sri Lanka struggling.
“The Big Three – India, England, and Australia – take all the money. The rest can’t compete,” Lloyd said.
Meanwhile, former West Indies captain Carl Hooper, speaking on ABC Cricket, said the people running Cricket West Indies should take responsibility for the team’s poor performance.
“They made big changes that weren’t needed, and now we’re seeing the result,” said Hooper.
