WI vs IND | Windies players can be a little bit more tougher mentally, feels Brian Lara
Former West Indies skipper Brian Lara feels that the current crop of players will need to work on the mental aspect of their game a tad more to compete with the best. Lara alongside Ramnaresh Sarwan has been working with the Windies Test batsmen in order to help them tackle the Indian bowlers.
A few days ago, the West Indies announced that they have roped in legendary cricketer Brian Lara alongside Ramnaresh Sarwan to help their batsmen prepare for the Indian threat ahead of the two-Test series. The veteran left-hander represented the Windies in 131 Tests, and till date, holds the record for the highest individual score in Test cricket - 400*.
Speaking about the current crop of players, Lara stated that they can make subtle improvements to the mental aspect of their game, which in turn will help them compete against the very best in the business. He further went on to praise the intensity shown by the team, hailing coach Floyd Reifer for the efforts he's been putting in.
"Where I feel I can make an impact is their mental approach to the game. I feel as if I was to strike on one thing that I was decent at was mentally where I prepared myself strongly. The practical side is there for the young players, but I feel mentally they can grow a little bit and learn a little bit more," Lara told Cricket West Indies, reported News 18.
"From what I've seen in the camp is intense practice which is good. I think the intensity I've seen in this camp is very good. The young players are working hard, Floyd Reifer and his team are actually putting things together pretty good," he added.
The 50-year-old also hopes to inculcate his knowledge into the minds of the budding talents, stating that it was important to get them think the right way.
"I'm hoping that I can impart some type of knowledge, some of my experiences in the past to the young batsmen especially that we have in the team to see if we can get a little bit more out of them because it's necessary. It's a good group of young players, we just have to get them thinking in the right way," he said.
The Windies side under Jason Holder over the course of the last few months have been a force to be reckoned with in Test Cricket. After promising displays against Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, the Holder-led side ruthlessly dismantled the English side 2-1 earlier this year. Lara feels that it might be the start of something more special to come, but insisted that it was necessary to lay a foundation at home before they start performing well overseas.
"The performance against England to win a series at home, I think is the start of something really good for us. We must lay the foundation at home first before we travel abroad in foreign conditions to sort of take command of situations," the former Windies skipper said.