- The recently concluded two-Test series between India and the West Indies, held in Ahmedabad and New Delhi, did not throw any surprises. As expected, Team India defeated the visitors most convincingly in both Tests to garner much-needed points for the World Test Championship. Right from the outset, the results of the Tests were never in doubt, with the almost invincible Team India expected to roll over the visiting West Indies with panache. Cricket connoisseurs, experts from the field, administrators, various boards, and the die-hard fans of the sport would have noticed the increasingly deteriorating performance of the once mighty West Indies in Tests. The standards have nose-dived over the last couple of decades gradually and have reached a nadir now.
PC: ETV Bharat
- The moot point to ponder over here is how and when West Indies cricket would possibly start gaining ascendancy, like the halcyon days of yore. What a golden era of cricket it was during those 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s when some of the greatest performers from the West Indies used to ply their awesome skills by rolling over every opposition with great aplomb. The swagger, the intimidation, the aggressive disposition, the menacing bunch of players, and the fear that they inflicted on the opposition by sheer dint of attacking play was a breathtaking experience for every cricket lover back then. Without mentioning names of the era, whose mere presence sent shivers down the spine of opposition players, would suffice to describe the West Indies team of yore.
PC: The Indian Wire
- However, it is extremely disappointing and heartbreaking to witness the decline of Caribbean cricket in general, where the emphasis has shifted to franchise-based T20 cricket. Several talented cricketers are choosing to decline the contract offered by the West Indies board by preferring to ply their trade across the mushrooming T20 leagues spread around the world. So much so that the pride of representing the West Indies in whites has been steadily replaced by showing preference to coloured slam-bang variety. The decline of Team West Indies in Tests is so apparent that the recently concluded two-Test series in India was not only won by the hosts most convincingly but also mirrored the vast chasm between the two teams in the classical format.
PC: Deccan Chronicle
- The huge difference between the players, man to man, is so stark that it sort of highlights the turning of tables when the West Indies used to present invincibility in the form of supremely talented, aggressive players. As the Team India coach mentioned during his pep talk to the West Indies players on the invitation of the opposition coach Darren Sammy, cricket needs West Indies, and it’s not the other way round. The sense of pride in representing the Caribbean Islands is sorely lacking among the present set of players. Unless something drastic occurs, the West Indies will struggle to be counted among the top teams in Tests. Hopefully, every true lover of sport would wish to believe that a definite turnaround for good is just around the corner for the West Indies.
