“Indian Pace Attack Reminds Me of Old West Indies”: Brian Lara

West Indian batting legend Brian Lara on Thursday praised the current Indian pace attack, which reminded him of the old West Indian bowling attacks. The Indian pace troika of Jasprit Bumrah, Ishant Sharma and Mohammed Shami, in 2018, scalped the record 142 wickets among them in Test matches.

“It’s the Indian pace attack. Unbelievable. I saw them in the West Indies. When you look at the quality — (Jasprit) Bumrah, (Mohammed) Shami, (Umesh) Yadav — all these guys, and the guys on the sidelines, like Bhuvi (Bhuvneshwar Kumar) are unbelievable,” he said.

“It reminds me a little bit of the (pace bowling) strength that the West Indies had in the 80s and 90s. The reserve strength is very important in assessing a team’s ability. It means that your attack has quality,” Lara further added.

Brian Lara, who had amassed 11,953 Test runs, was speaking after the launch of ‘Road Safety World Series’, where he will take part and lead the West Indian legend team. He even praised Virat Kohli, whom he referred to as the ‘Ultimate Captain’.

“He’s (Kohli) the ultimate captain. In terms of his performances, he leads by example. And I mean that in all facets of the game, and off the field too. He is came off very well in the background of MS Dhoni, who laid the foundation, and did things in a different way. So, I think Indian cricket, as we all know, is headed in the right direction. It’s influenced by some of the best people, and is reaping the benefits of it,” the batting legend told.

Lara also commented on Rohit Sharma who did a splendid job while opening in Tests and he is a phenomenalplayer across formats.

“I think that Rohit is an awesome player in all formats of the game. Obviously, in the limited overs game, he’s been very successful. I don’t see any reason why he should not be in Test cricket. It seems that he has the passion to play and wants to prove himself on that stage (Test cricket) as well. To exclude a player like that (from the Test team) will be very difficult, with the talent that I see. So, hopefully, he will be successful. He is a gifted batsman,” said Lara.

Brian Lara holds the record for highest individual run scorer in Tests and he also welcomed the new ICC Test Championship.

“I think (World Test Championship should have started earlier). In terms of Test Championship, where there is an end, it culminates into a team becoming Championship, that is something that should have happened a long time ago and happy to see it now. Even if you play against the minnows Afghanistan, Bangladesh it means something,” he concluded.