Lara has a plan for WI cricket

“We have so many West Indians here and also Diaspora, and if they are asked to pay $ 20 as a membership fee for the year, think about how much money we will have, to run cricket here. We will move away from the stranglehold of just a few investors,” said Lara, who scored five Test centuries and one one-day hundred in 2005.

“I have done a study of my own and what I have come up with will save our cricket down the road. The World Cup is just around the corner and estimated profits are in the region of $ 60m. The board is currently running a deficit between $ 15m and $20m. This tells me that when this is wiped out, the board will have funds to run cricket for about another five years. From there it will be a struggle again,” said Lara, who also became the highest Test scorer last year, topping Allan Border’s mark.

It’s unclear, though, how Lara’s suggestions will be taken by the Windies board, considering the history of face-offs between officials and players. Both had reached a compromise last month, just before the Zimbabwe tour, with the Board agreeing to implement extended contracts. Barely two years ago, captain Lara and 15 other West Indies players were dumped from a one-day series in Australia in January after refusing to sign a contract over sponsorship deals.

–ajay.s.shankar@expressindia.com