Tarouba [Trinidad and Tobago]: Young Indian batters Ishan Kishan and Shubman Gill experienced a moment of their lifetime as none other than the ‘Prince of Trinidad’, the legendary West Indies batter Brian Lara interacted with them.
Gill and Kishan recalled their favourite memories associated with the legend and expressed their delight at playing match-winning knocks agains the Windies in the third ODI in a stadium named after Lara.
With Mukesh Kumar’s early breakthrough followed by Shardul Thakur’s clobber bowling, India registered a 2-1 series win against West Indies after winning the third ODI match by massive 200-runs Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba on Wednesday. In a video posted by BCCI, Lara expressed his pleasure having these two young players at the stadium, which also has an academy named after him.
He asked Ishan if he had yet another double hundred on his mind. Ishan replied, “I had it on my mind (The double hundred). But I will take care of it in next games.”
Gill and Kishan recalled their favourite memories of Lara.
Gill pointed out that Lara’s domination over bowlers inspired him a lot as a kid.
“My fond memories of him is taking on the bowlers, smashing the bowlers whenever I used to see him, especially in red-ball. He used to take on all the challenges and bowlers from ball one. This inspired me a lot as a kid, to be able to how to dominate the game across all formats,” said Gill.
Kishan also recalled some fascinating tales about Lara and expressed his awe and shock at receiving a text from Lara.
“I think for me the most important story is that you always used to bat till lunch. And if you were there on the pitch, you used to practice and once again come back on ground to bat.
That is something to learn from you. You texted me on Instagram…I was in shock that how a legend of the game texted me. It was really special for me to perform here. I have seen highlights and have seen your innings, the shots you played a lot,” Kishan added.
Lara expressed that India is like a second home for him.
“India is like a second home to me. I am looking at young, promising talents from the team, it is something I have grown up doing. Seeing the amount of talent, they can pick up a second or third playing eleven,” he added.
Gill said that the facilities in the stadium are nice.
“I have played here previously in 2019. This ground is fantastic and it has always been good for me,” he added.
Lara asked what advice Kishan and Gill would give to young West Indies players, a team currently struggling to reach the heights it had reached in 1970s to 1990s, when it used to be the most fearsome team in the world. Notably this year, WI will miss their first ever Cricket World Cup after they failed to clinch a top two position in the Qualifiers held recently.
Kishan said in response, “I think hunger is most important. You want to perform for your team, yourself and your family. Having so many great players here in WI, they (youngsters) can interact with players like you at the academy. Your advice and experience will help them a lot.”
On being asked by Lara about the food in Trinidad and Tobago, Gill said that the food is enjoyable.
“But we are waiting to have dinner at your place,” added Kishan.
The five-match T20I series between both the sides will start from August 3.
