I think India is still the best travelling side in the world – Brian Lara

 
Former West Indies legendary batsman Brian Lara believes India is still the best travelling side in the world despite their recent 0-2 loss against New Zealand. Virat Kohli’s men, being the number one Test side, were expected to dictate terms to the Kiwis but it wasn’t to be the case as they were totally outgunned in the two-match series.

The Indian batsmen could not deliver their best whereas the bowlers were not able to produce expected performances. On the other hand, New Zealand made good use of the home conditions and they were able to dominate the Indian team right throughout the series.

India had a successful home season against Bangladesh and South Africa but they were not able to replicate the same form in the alienate conditions. It was disappointing for the Virat Kohli-led side as they had savoured their maiden Test series win on the Australian tour of 2018-19 but could not repeat the same magic on New Zealand tour.

Brian Lara, who was recently leading West Indies legends in Road Safety series feels India had to pay the price for continuously playing the limited-overs format before their Test series.

“I think India has been travelling very well in the last ten or so years. What happened in New Zealand, I think it’s more of an aberration, I think coming off so much one-day and T20 cricket, it might have been tough for them in the Test arena outside of India. But I think India is still maybe the best travelling team in the world,” Lara said in an interview with ESPNCricinfo.

India still needs to tick a lot of boxing to become the Test cricket powerhouse, especially while playing in the unknown conditions. Virat Kohli’s team is still at the pinnacle of the ICC Test rankings and also have 360 points under their belt in the ongoing Test championship. Ergo, they are favourites to play in the final of the championship in Lord’s next year. The Indian team will be next seen in whites in the Test series against Australia, which will take place later in the year.

On the other hand, the Road safety series had to be called off due to the outbreak of the coronavirus. Lara added that it was disappointing not to complete the remaining tournament but he was thrilled to see the response the competition got from the fans.

“The situation is a little disappointing now but we are looking forward to coming back and taking part in the remaining games of the series.”

“People are hungry for cricket, they are hungry to see legends, like (Virender) Sehwag and Sachin (Tendulkar), when they come out to play cricket. So I think this tournament was awesome. The competition was even more than I expected.”

“It was very special, seeing Sachin back on the field again and seeing the crowd reaction,” he added.

Not only Road safety series but almost all the sporting events across the globe have been cancelled or postponed due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

Written by: Gautam Chauhan