West Indies legend Viv Richards is 'very, very sad' for his team not being able to play in the Champions Trophy 2025. West Indies, the 2004 champions of the Champions Trophy, were not eligible to qualify for the 2025 edition due to not playing in the ODI World Cup 2023, which served as the qualification path for it.
Former Windies batter and icon Richards reflected on the Windies missing out on making it to the tournament. "I feel very annoyed with the fact that the West Indies team, with such (a) huge legacy, is not in the Champions Trophy, and it hurts. It makes me feel very, very sad because we are much better than that," Richards, who is the governing council member of the International Masters League, told media on Sunday.
The two-time ODI World Cup winner Richards highlighted the progress of Afghanistan in world cricket and wants the Windies to take a leaf out of their book. "I'm just hoping that my West Indies team can take a leaf out of these guys' book because there is a passion and energy that the Afghanis have brought to the game.
"They haven't been in the cricket world for so long as maybe some other teams around the world, but just their fighting spirit. To me, the ability to learn as the years go by, that would have given them the experience that's needed in order for them to be where they're at," he said in a virtual interaction.
Richards wants efforts from all spheres in West Indies cricket to pour in for them to return to where they used to be once. “When you can see Afghanistan in the Champions League, and the West Indies not, it means that Afghanistan is doing something right. In order for us to get ourselves back where we once were, it is going to take maybe not just the players, but individuals from the board, people who are in responsible positions," he said.
He also gave his views on India having the edge over other teams of playing all of their Champions Trophy matches at a single venue. "People may have a point when they say that. I guess that's due to politics — I don't want to get into the political side of things,” he said.
"But I believe the people who are responsible, in terms of the governing and the ruling of the game in itself which is the ICC, they're the ones who I think got the problem."
"I would like them to come up with an answer, why? If they are the governing body of cricket, why is that happening at present? I honestly believe one of the things that can bring all of us together, fans and everyone, even enemies together, (is) sports," he said