West Indies legend Brian Lara has joined the Men in Maroon side as part of the support staff ahead of the first Test against India in Dominica next week, starting July 12. Lara, who was the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2023, will be the performance mentor for the West Indies during the India series. West Indies are scheduled to play two Tests, three ODIs and five T20Is in a month-long multi-format series.
"West Indies legend Brian Lara has joined the players at their camp at CCG ahead of the series vs India. Lara is Performance Mentor," Windies Cricket Twitter handle informed. It is an important series for West Indies more than India as this will succeed their team's poor performance in the World Cup qualifiers as for the first time in 48 years, the two-time champions won't be playing the ODI World Cup.
West Indies last played a Test series against South Africa in February-March and lost both games. The Kraigg Brathwaite-led side finished 8th on the points table in the World Test Championship (WTC) cycle 2021-23 and 6th in the inaugural cycle 2019-21. West Indies will hope to begin the new cycle on a strong note and given that Team India is under pressure after the WTC final, they will be vulnerable.
West Indies began a preparatory camp this week with the skipper Brathwaite leading the charge. The hosts are set to travel to Dominica on July 9, the venue of the series opener. The second and final Test will take place in Trinidad.
For India, it's an opportunity to begin the new WTC cycle on a bright note having lost the final in the previous two editions. India have made a few changes to their squad indicating the beginning of the transition period with a few young players named in both batting and bowling departments.
