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Former Indian footballer Akash Chopra believes the International Cricket Council (ICC) should strip West Indies of Test playing status as they haven’t done anything of note in international cricket for a few years now.
West Indies cricket hit a new low recently when they failed to qualify for the ODI World Cup in India. This is the first time in history that the FIFA World Cup will be played without the champions of the event. Their performance in the Tests and T20Is left a lot to be desired.
In a Q&A session on his YouTube channel, Chopra was asked if it was time to remove the West Indies from Test cricket and instead give Associate Member status to individual islands like Jamaica, Antigua and others.
I nodded and said:
“Not a bad point. They will not play in the World Cup. In all three forms, they are backward in order. In the end, there must be a threshold. I’ve been talking about this system of levels – ups and downs. Just because they’re an ex-champion team, how long can you last with them as an experimental nation? The team, as such, does nothing.
Supporting the idea of separating the West Indies cricket teams, he added:
Their case is unique because they have separate islands. Their pitches are very slow. You saw it in Dominica and you’ll see it in Port of Spain as well. It’s not a bad idea. Al Jazeera teams might play with more pride. All said and done, the state of cricket in the West Indies is very poor.”
An unlucky West Indies outfit was recently reached by an innings and 141 runs run by India in the first Test in Dominica.
“The five fingers are divided and everyone thinks of themselves” – Chopra on The Endless Woes of the West Indies
Elaborating on the West Indies’ ongoing struggles on and off the field, Chopra opined that a lack of unity and inappropriate coordination between the different islands were responsible for the team’s horrific collapse.
He also noted the fact that a number of senior players preferred franchise cricket to representing the West Indies.
“The Five Fingers are divided and everyone is thinking for themselves – whether it’s Jamaica, Barbados, Antigua or Guyana. There is hardly any coordination. During the lead, Clive Lloyd has kept them together. This team needs leadership because it’s a scattered team. Every island nation has its own.” Her own anthem. As it stands, the goings were tough and then the players became T20 pioneers. “The feeling of pride in playing for the West Indies has subsided,” Chopra said.
Meanwhile, the West Indies will play India in the second Test at Port-of-Spain in Trinidad from July 20-24.
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