Lara, Richards and Richardson set for a pep-talk with West Indies squad

Lara along with two former West Indies captains will interact with Roston Chase’s lot ahead of the second Test in New Delhi.

“We are going to rush across to Delhi to have a little chat with the boys. You know, it’s always tough for any country to play in India and beat India. But we want to be able to be competitive. So hopefully, we can get a competitive game in the next match,” Lara said on the sidelines of the Ceat Cricket Awards.

Besides being honoured at the ceremony, Lara along with other legends of West Indies cricket including Sir Vivian Richards and Richie Richardson, is also in India to attract potential investors to Caribbean cricket.

With West Indies rapidly continuing its downward slide, calls for separated national teams by disintegrating regional West Indies teams in the international arena have been getting louder. But Lara preferred to stick to the unified regional team in international cricket.

“That (separate national team) is going to be tested in things like the Pan Am Games, the Olympics. The West Indies cannot be a representative cricket team in those tournaments. We are from a population of about five or six million people. And the sport, obviously, has been diluted with the advent of other sports and interests,” Lara said.

“But I still believe that the strength of West Indies lies in that unified team. And I would like to see that continue. The issue now is that, there is a lot more that’s happening in world cricket. There are more opportunities for our youngsters. And with that, again, it’s going to weaken our strength. But we are all disappointed (with the results). We are perennial favourites around the world, and we are all disappointed in the way things have turned out.

“I don’t see going our separate ways as being the answer. But again, there is going to be a lot of national interest in cricket come the Olympics, the Pan Am Games, where individual countries are going to be involved,” Lara added.