Daijiworld Media Network - Mumbai

Mumbai, Oct 3: Former India opener and cricket analyst Aakash Chopra has raised concerns over the competitiveness of the West Indies in Test cricket following the opening match of their tour of India. After batting first, the West Indies were bowled out for just 162, leaving little scope to challenge India.

On his YouTube channel, Chopra questioned whether the current West Indies side meets the standards expected in five-day cricket. Critiquing the top six batters, he noted, “If you see the top six batters of the West Indies team, everyone’s average is in the 20s. Chanderpaul has an average of barely over 30, just 31.11. One batter has an average over 30, but the rest are around 25. After playing a significant amount of Test cricket, it is clear that there is no prowess. They are playing Tests, but are they good enough?”

Chopra also questioned whether matches like these are harming the reputation of Test cricket, and proposed a two-tier system to protect the format from such mismatches. “The point of the WTC was to bring excitement to the longest format, but where is the contest? India has not lost a single Test to the West Indies in the last 20-22 years. Teams like Australia, England, India, and South Africa are competitive with each other, while the others lag far behind,” he explained.

Historical data from the World Test Championship (WTC) cycles supports Chopra’s argument. The West Indies finished eighth out of nine teams in the 2019-21 cycle and retained similar positions in the subsequent two cycles. Meanwhile, India finished as runner-up in the first two cycles and narrowly missed the summit clash in the third.

Chopra’s observations highlight a significant gap between top-tier and lower-tier Test teams, lending merit to his call for a tiered WTC structure to ensure more competitive contests in international cricket.