By G Unnikrishnan

Bengaluru- Former West Indies skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul said the Caribbeans’ spirited outing against India during the white-ball tour will be a massive confidence booster for them and hoped for it to resonate in their performance in Test cricket as well.

Led by Shai Hope, the Windies pushed India hard both in the ODIs and T20Is, reminding the nation that once they ruled world cricket.

“Oh! Definitely. They believe now that they can win matches out there or anywhere, and they’ve done it. You know, once the guys have some success and they can do it, they will definitely back themselves to get the job done,” Chanderpaul responded to PTI in an interaction organised by Cricketaaa.

Ajay Sethi, owner of the West Indies Champions franchise, also attended the meeting, stressing on the platform the World League Legends gives to former cricketers to come together.

Chanderpaul said the challenge will be for the Windies to carry forward the success to the red-ball format.

“The Test team must be working hard. They haven’t won much. They won a few games recently in the Caribbean against Pakistan and against Sri Lanka. So there are a few wins here and there, but it’s not as much as you know you would like it to be.

“But I think in between, there is a bit of spark, and, hopefully, that can grow. They have some very good players still there. If the team comes well together in any match, they could definitely win,” he said.

The left-handed batter lauded Hope for leading the West Indies from the front on the tour to India.

“Hope has played a lot of cricket in Guyana. He’s learnt how to bat on those wickets. If anybody could score runs on the Providence wicket in Guyana, they could score runs anywhere. He learned how to play spinners there. He has developed his cricket really well.”

Hope led the West Indies’ batting charts in this series, making 278 runs in ODIs and 261 runs in T20Is.

Chanderpaul was not amused.

“You can see, he is scoring much freer. He is more confident now. He can go out and express himself from early. Yes, he is not going to go crazy out there and throw his bat away. He played proper cricket shots, and he hit proper boundaries in good areas,” he added.

West Indies’ cricketers have shown the world that a lucrative career can be made by becoming T20 freelancers, shunning central contracts with the home board.

Chanderpaul did not mind players taking their own career course and said Test cricket can sustain itself amid this talent drain.

“Look, a cricketer’s career is only spent for a certain period. The guys are trying to make as much money as they can while their career lasts. And you can be upset about that. Test cricket is still there, and we still have players who want to play Test cricket.

“So, we have to make sure that we find those players who want to play Test cricket. There is a buzz around Test cricket and you can see it when the big teams are playing, be it Australia or England or India.

“So, there is still a big vibe about it out there, and people want to see it. I think there are a lot of players who still want to play Test cricket. I know a lot of the players are going towards white ball now. But Test cricket offers the ultimate challenge.

“But, you know, when you play Test cricket, it’s going to be more challenging. And then, you know, the difference between players with good skills or just the T20 players who just go out to hit balls. If they are good enough to survive in that format or not when wickets are a bit challenging,” he signed off.