(Jamaica Gleaner) Double-batting world-record holder, Brian Lara, returns to top-class cricket next April in the Indian Premier League (IPL), but his decision is not being embraced by two of his former West Indies teammates.
All-time great fast bowler Curtly Ambrose and the classic wicketkeeper/batsman, Jeffrey Dujon, declared on the SportsMax Cricket Talk Show, From the Pitch, that they would advise the 41-year-old Lara to stay away from the IPL at this stage of his life.
“If you finish at the top, there’s only one way you can go after that if you come back, let’s face it,” said Dujon. “I wouldn’t advise him to come back. He has had a wonderful career and he should live with those memories.”
Lara retired from international cricket almost four years ago, but still holds the individual batting world records in Tests (400 not out) and first-class cricket (501 not out).
He is among the big names attracting the top IPL price of US$400,000 for the league’s 2011 edition, slated to start in early April, but Ambrose also believes he should resist the temptation to come back.
“If I was supposed to advise Brian, I would advise him to stay out,” said Ambrose. “He hasn’t played any form of competitive cricket for a few years. When you reach certain heights in international sports you can really damage your reputation quite a bit if you can’t reproduce that kind of standard. I don’t think he should come back.”
Ten teams are to participate in IPL – with a total of 74 games – and the players’ auction will be staged on January 8 and 9 in Bangalore, India.
Lara recently explained his 2011 IPL desire by suggesting he would take a mentor role in the series, seeing himself as being involved in a “holistic way and not just as a player”.
“I would like to see myself as someone who can make a contribution even if I am not in the final XI,” said Lara, who scored 11,953 runs at a solid average of 52.88 in 131 Tests.
