Lack of attitude, desire attributed to East Coast’s downfall – Chandrika

By Clifton Ross

Captain of the East Coast franchise, Rajendra Chandrika wants his team to finish off the remaining rounds of the Guyana Cricket Board /Jaguars 3-Day League on a high note following their winless run, citing a lack of hunger as the issue.
Speaking to Guyana Times Sport on the eve of their encounter against the number one team Essequibo at the Tuschen Ground from today, the opener highlighted numerous reasons behind East Coast’s poor run this season.

“The team hasn’t done well this year, because their fitness is a problem and the players haven’t played much cricket either. I can’t speak for everyone, because I don’t know how often they have been training, but I think they need to do a lot more work and change their attitude towards the game,” the skipper lamented.
He hopes the younger players in the franchise will model themselves off teammates Bhaskar Yadram and Chandrapaul Hemraj, both of whom used the League last year to successfully boost their careers.
He further stated that both Yadram and Hemraj have been prime examples of hard work, dedication and hunger to perform well on the field, traits he wants his younger, less experienced teammates to mirror as they go forward with hopes of playing for their country.
“Yadram and Hemraj are examples for everyone: they both played well last year in the League and Yadram even went onto play for West Indies, while they both received academy contracts for their hard work. So it’s just about the younger players being hungry and serious about your cricket,” he concluded.
The out-of-favour West Indies Test opener said with just two rounds left, it was important for his team to end with a win or two.
“We have two games left and we’re looking to finish on a high, so if we can get the two wins it will be a plus, because we can’t finish on the bottom. You can’t take anything away from Essequibo, because they have been playing well, so we will have to go out and play hard cricket.”
On account of the ongoing second annual T20 invitational hosted by the Antigua and Barbuda Cricket Association (ABCA) which bowled off yesterday and would run until October 15, as well as upcoming international duties, franchises were forced to find replacements for those players possibly unavailable for the last two rounds, thus resulting in weaker, less experienced sides having to bear the burden of round six.
Addressing the loss of players, especially with their opponents Essequibo missing their big guns in Keemo Paul and Ricardo Adams, the 28-year-old said now was the ideal time to try and seize the chance to pounce on the slightly weakened champs, adding that he was still wary of their threat.
“It’s a good advantage for us; they’re missing two vital players in Keemo and Ricardo, so for us to work out the other players in the team, it will be a big plus for us, if we can go out and play some hard cricket, because they still have some good players in the team, so we will need to play good cricket.”
Chandrika, who has played five Tests for the West Indies, has not featured in all the games for East Coast this season and said despite the team’s lean run, he was not deterred and knew it was very important for him as the most experienced player in the team to lead from the front, with hopes of salvaging a bit of pride before the tournament culminated.
“As a captain or a batsman, I don’t feel any pressure; it has been a short tournament for me so now I just have to try and score runs in the last two games and get centuries. As a team, we also have to go out and stick to the basics and get runs, because sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t, so I’ll have to give 100 per cent,” he added.
In closing, Chandrika said the League was a great concept, especially for the younger players who have numerous chances to build a career with the Guyana team for the future. He also urged the upcoming batch of cricketers to take full advantage of the League as it provides a strong base for players to take their careers from strength to strength, adding that dedication and hard work would eventually pay off.