Indian coach Rahul Dravid opined that the West Indies cricket will get out of this crisis soon and regain their glory days as he sees no dearth of talent or ability in the Caribbean. His words came on the eve of the second Test between India and West Indies in Trinidad which begins from July 20, 2023.
The two-time World Cup champions West Indies hit rock bottom as they failed to qualify for the ODI World Cup recently. They lost successive matches to hosts Zimbabwe, the Netherlands, and Scotland in poor fashion leading to many feeling sorry for the state the once mighty team was in.
West Indies had finished 8th in the previous World Test Championship cycle with 4 wins in 14 Tests.
But Dravid feels that the West Indies should put emphasis on infrastructure and resources as they have talent and ability to get back to the top.
“Yes, from a West Indies perspective, I can sense and people have spoken about the disappointments they do feel. But one of the great things that people have here in the Caribbean is just the love of the sport and how they are keen to get behind and still rally around the West Indies, despite the difficult situations.
“I don’t see any dearth of talent here. I see great talent, I see great ability and I’m sure that just with the right kind of maybe emphasis on infrastructure and resources, I don’t see why West Indies cricket can’t go back to the glory days,” Dravid said in conversation with journalists.
The West Indies had lost just one of their last six Test series at home — against South Africa (2021). They beat Bangladesh and England while drawing the Test series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
“So, you know, I think we need to put things in perspective as well. While yes, I think the pressure and the challenge that the current generation of West Indian players face, is that they always get compared to the great West Indian sides of the 80s and the 90s.
You know, this late 70s, the 80s, and the 90s or some of the teams in the 50s and the 60s and that’s not an easy comparison for anyone to compare your team against a legendary team like the one that Clive Lloyd led or Viv Richards led. I think that is gonna be tough for anyone. You know, it’s not going to be easy,” he signed off.
(PTI inputs)
