Shai Hope Is The Best Option For West Indies Across The Formats - Brian Lara

Though it was Shimron Hetmyer, who caught the attention of the cricketing world, the opening batsman of West Indies Shai Hope was the other major reason, who helped West Indies to go one up in the series. The flamboyant batsman smashed a brilliant century under pressure to deliver the required goods for his side. Speaking of his knock, Brian Lara showered words of praise on the youngster.

On Sunday, Hope scored an unbeaten 102 and alongside Shimron Hetmyer (139 off 106) stitched together a 218-run partnership as Windies chased down a 288-run target with utmost ease in Chennai. Though Hetmyer dominated the partnership, Shai Hope stood at the crease till the end to help his side taste the victory.

Shai Hope is a stand out performer – Brian Lara

Speaking of him, Brian Lara stated that Shai Hope is one of those few players representing West Indies, got the goods to deliver for the team across the formats like himself and Chris Gayle did during their times. He feels Shai Hope’s technique suits all forms of the game to make things fall in place.

Further, Shai Hope also stated that the West Indies team are blessed with the talents like Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King and Nicholas Pooran, who can play all the three formats for West Indies. He believes all of them will mature by the time to come.

“Presently, I think Shai Hope is the best option we have in terms of a batsman who can play all formats. He is not a bad attacking player, pretty much a decent Test player. He will stand out. Nicholas Pooran, Hetmyer and even Brandon King the new find, these are guys that you can mould,” Brian Lara said.

”I think that they will mature a little bit later than others. Some guys like Sachin Tendulkar — at 16 he was already a mature cricketer — or Carl Hooper matured very early. There is nothing wrong with maturing later in life,” he further added while speaking to IANS on the sidelines of an event for Usha International.

Read More – Virat Kohli praises Shimron Hetmyer

Well, as Brian Lara said, the West Indies team got so many talented players in the side at the moment, and all they require is the application in the middle. They are already 0-1 up in the ongoing three-match series and would like to seal the series when they play India in Visakhapatnam.