'Lara ne SRH ki kismat badal di IPL me' - Fans react as Brian Lara joins West Indies team as performance mentor ahead of India series 

Brain Lara (Source: Twitter)

Cricket West Indies (CWI) has appointed legendary batter Brian Lara as a performance mentor ahead of the multi-format series against India. The Windies great, who was the head coach of Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2023, will take up the new role in the Test series starting July 12 in Dominica. West Indies will host two Tests, three ODIs, and five T20Is against India.

"West Indies legend Brian Lara has joined the players at their camp at CCG ahead of the series vs India. Lara is Performance Mentor," Windies Cricket Twitter handle informed. Lara's responsibility, according to the CWI, will be to "assist the various head coaches in providing players with tactical advice and improving their game sense."

The Caribbeans are in desperate need of a comeback following their tragic setback in the World Cup qualifiers. The two-time ODI World Cup champions suffered a hat-trick of defeats in the Super Six stage of the qualifiers and missed out on the mega tournament for the first time in 48 years.

Lara could not save SRH from a disastrous season in the IPL 2023

With Lara joining the camp, the 1975 and 1979 World Cup champions will be hopeful of getting back on track. However, given his failure to succeed as the head coach of SRH in the IPL, it remains to be seen how efficient the left-hander can be with his national team. The Hyderabad-based franchise finished last in the 2023 points table.

"Having spent time with the players and coaches in Australia and in discussions with CWI, I really believe that I can help the players with their mental approach to the game and with their tactics to be more successful," Lara said.

"I'm looking forward to joining the group in Zimbabwe and the opportunity to work with other West Indies teams later in the year," the 54-year-old added.

Widely regarded as one of the greatest batters of all time, Lara played 131 Tests for the West Indies and scored 11,953 runs at an average of 52.88. He holds the record for the highest Test innings score with his unbeaten 400 against England in Antigua in 2004. In 299 ODIs, the southpaw has scored 10,405 runs.

Here's how fans reacted: 

Matlab Windies aur haarenge

— Abhishek Pathak (@gamehhhover) July 4, 2023

We already know how he helped SRH😂

— Ashwin Daniel (@_Ashwin_Daniel) July 4, 2023

Ohh great..he couldn’t help the sinking #SRH in #IPL and you think he can help #WestIndies . At least hope the team gets motivated by the presence of legend in the dressing room.

— FPL Pritesh (@PriteshShetty87) July 4, 2023

He helped Hyderabad in ipl to finish in last 2 ....

He is a great player but in coaching terms he is not fit for that ......

— Saket (@Saket_kumar09) July 4, 2023

SRH fans seeing this. pic.twitter.com/7ZIvl6LmdS

— Holy Cricket Christ! (@CricketInsight3) July 4, 2023

Bit late to join , would have joined before WC qualifiers🙃

— Khan_Dada (@gamesadaku) July 4, 2023

Good strategy...their legends need to intervene for their comeback 💪

— SAHIL MOHANTY (@SAHILMO62840945) July 4, 2023

He can only help them by literally coming to bat for them 🏏

— Pointpod (@tylerdurdenp) July 4, 2023

Bro single-handedly destroyed the SRH team now on his way to completely eradicating Westindies team from the planet.

— chottab (@ChottaB143) July 4, 2023