Brian Lara: India is like my second home, I am in love with the place

West Indies cricket legend Brian Lara is enjoying his commentary stint in the dugout and is very excited about the ongoing IPL 2021 season Brian Lara is one of the most talented batsmen to have ever played the game and it would have surely been a treat to watch him in this formatThe 51yearold former Windies cricketer is regarded as one of the greatest batsmen of all time has a list of records in cricket including the highest firstclass score by a batsman 501 and the highest individual test score by a cricketer 400In his 131 Test matches Lara scored 11953 runs at an impressive average of 5288 Lara has 34 Test centuries and 48 fifties under his beltIn ODIs Lara played 299 matches and scored 10405 runs at an average of 4048 and a top score of 169 He has 19 centuries and 63 fiftiesThe former West Indies skipper in a candid interview with Star Sports talked about what he looks forward to this IPL the player to watch out for his favourite cocommentator greatest cricketer of all time his daily routine and moreExcerpts from the interviewQ What are you looking forward to the most this yearBrian Lara I am looking forward to a team to challenge Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians are of course are a great little outfit and a great team They have had their players for quite some time so the stability is very good So I want to see one of the other teams to truly challenge them in this yearrsquos 2021 IPLQ Your most memorable game so far this yearBrian Lara This year there have been quite a few games The tournament is not that old but to think of KKR falling apart in their second game ndash to lose after being in such a great position itrsquos pretty disappointingQ Your player to watch out for so farBrian Lara Young Abdul Samad I know he has had just two innings but I think he is someone who can pretty much be one of the shining knights at the end of the tournamentQ Which West Indian player is your pick for shining this yearBrian Lara I think Jason Holder could do pretty well He ended up replacing Mitchell Marsh in the 2020 IPL so I expect him to maybe come up trumps this year The tracks are not so favourable to pace where he is playing at present but he is such a good allround player that I hope he can maintain his play and really show that the West Indians are here to stayQ Who is your favourite cocommentator in the dugoutBrian Lara It has got to be Scott Styris His knowledge of the game and the questions he asks are great I enjoy working with himQ Who is your Greatest Of All TimeBrian Lara The Greatest Of All Time has to behellipdifferent eras I am someone who finds it very difficult to have an opinion on the Greatest Of All Time when there are so many good ones I mean back in the day of course Don Bradman Let me give you a few ndash Garfield Sobers a great allrounder Sir Vivian Richards a great batsman Then in my time you had guys like Jacques Kallis allaround ability Sachin Tendulkar a great batsman So quite a few I think I love really appreciating each player for what they brought to the gameQ Who was your cricketing hero while growing upBrian Lara When I was very young it was Roy Fredricks a lefthanded opening batsman from the West Indies in the 70s and the early 80s Back in those days as a kid I was a lefthanded batsman He used to have a longsleeve white shirt I also used to have a longsleeve white shirt just to be like him But then as I grew a little older Sir Vivian Richards Gordon Greenidge Desmond Haynes these were all the guys who I tried to pick something and learn out of themQ A lefthander out there who reminds you of yourselfBrian Lara I would say Darren Bravo When he is in form he looks really good So yeah from the same village He is also family so I can see why some of his shots resembled some of mine when I was playingQ What is your routine like before you go live on TVBrian Lara Rest rest and trying to gain as much knowledge of what I am going to talk about But for me it is such a hectic environment such a biobubble is getting as much rest as possible because it is pretty intense for like eight hours or so every dayQ Who is the funniest cocommentator you have over hereBrian Lara Of course Graeme Swann without a doubtQ Is there a commentator whose voice you would love to borrowBrian Lara Definitely not Michael Holding I think thatrsquos very unique Irsquod like to develop a voice of my own So I am unhappy with it at the present and hopefully I can refine it stand out and stand uniqueQ What do you love the most about being here in IndiaBrian Lara India is like a second home I came to India when I was 14yearsold I came in 1984 to play in a schoolrsquos tournament Since then I have fallen in love with the place A lot of good friends are there The entire country is beautiful It has like every other country has its good and bad points but I love it and being in a country that loves cricket is so very important I feel very humbled when I am actually here in IndiaQ Your cricket debut or your commentary debut Which one made you more nervousBrian Lara Cricketing debut for sure Commentary is kind of riding on your cricket career Being a 19yearold and getting an opportunity to play for the West Indies was something very specialQ Would you bat first and set the target or would you chase it downBrian Lara I think chasing down looks like one of the better things to do maybe percentagewise But I just feel that when the target is onboard you know exactly what you have to doWatch the full video belowView this post on InstagramA post shared by Star Sports India starsportsindia