Brian Lara slammed the West Indies Cricket Board for Nicholas Pooran’s early retirement decision
Brian Lara: Nicholas Pooran retired from international cricket at the age of just 29.
Legendary player Brian Lara has criticized Cricket West Indies for failing to retain top players like Nicholas Pooran in the team. Pooran, who is making a splash in T20 cricket, recently announced his retirement from international cricket at the age of 29.
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Lara believes that this has been done due to the board not encouraging star players. He recently raised the issue in the wake of West Indies’ embarrassing defeat against Australia, in which the team was bowled out for just 27 runs.
CWI recently called an emergency meeting with legends Lara, Clive Lloyd and Vivian Richards. The meeting took place after West Indies lost the Test series 0-3 to Australia at home. West Indies suffered a historic defeat in the third Test against Australia at Sabina Park. Chasing a target of 204, West Indies were bowled out for 27, the second-lowest score in Test cricket.
Players are earning a lot by playing in foreign leagues: Brian Lara
Brian Lara said on the ‘Stick to Cricket’ podcast, “You have many players who are thinking about their careers. You have aggressive players like Pooran, who retired at the age of 29. And to be honest, it is quite clear why he did that. There are five or six leagues around the world, and they are earning a lot by playing in them.”
He further said, “I have no problem with it. The truth is that I don’t think the West Indies Cricket Board or the administration has done anything meaningful to keep the players loyal to West Indies cricket, as the boards of countries like England, Australia or even India have done.”
“So naturally, our players are going to look elsewhere. And when you see players like Kane Williamson or even South Africans making similar choices, you understand that these guys are just trying to give their families a good life.”
Lara’s remarks are a warning to national boards to encourage players to play for the national team. He said, “It is the responsibility of the respective national boards to encourage playing for the national team, otherwise other teams may also face a decline like West Indies.”
Notably, star all-rounder Andre Russell is the latest West Indies player to retire from international cricket. He will retire after the upcoming two T20 matches against Australia.
