Gary Sobers believes that IPL has destroyed West Indies cricket

Sir Garfield Sobers is the chief guest for the second Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies

One of cricket's greatest all-rounders, Sir Garfield Sobers believed that the Indian Premier League (and T20 cricket in general) has destroyed Test cricket and West Indies cricket. The 79-year-old West Indies legend felt that the huge amount of money involved in the IPL has taken a toll on the game as a whole.

According to a report on Wisden India, Sobers was speaking to the media on occasion of the second Test between Sri Lanka and West Indies at Colombo. Sobers was invited as the chief guest at the second Test of the trophy which is named in honour of him and former Sri Lankan captain Michael Tissera.

Sobers did not feel that ODI was a bad influence on the game of cricket, but he did express his displeasure with the way the shortest format was changing the views of cricket players and fans alike.

“I think so. I think it certainly destroyed West Indies cricket, I’ll tell you that. When you look from the point of view of the West Indies players, a lot of them come from very humble backgrounds. It (the IPL) is an opportunity for them to make money so they can help their families. Then you can’t really blame them,” Sobers said.

The legendary all-rounder lamented the fact that none of the West Indies cricketers were really interested in playing for the West Indies team, and instead were more concerned about performing well at the international level in order to gain lucrative offers from T20 leagues across the world.

“There is a lot of money in the game today and a lot of players don’t have the same heart and the same ideas as I did … my obligation was to West Indies cricket,” Sobers said.

Sobers was also talking about how day-night Test cricket might help to get back fans’ interest in the longest format of the game. He believed that Test cricket was really important for the development of a cricketer.

“I think day-and-night cricket will bring back some of those players too. It is a good move to have test cricket day and night. I am all in favour of that,” he emphasised.

At one point of time in cricket history, West Indies were the team every team dreaded facing. As per the latest ICC Rankings, West Indies are in eighth position in both Tests and ODIs, while they are fourth in the T20 format.

West Indies also missed out on qualifying for the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy as they were ranked outside the top eight at the time of qualification for the tournament.

Sobers had an exceptional career for West Indies playing between 1954 and 1974. He scored 8032 runs in 93 Tests with an average of 57.78 while picking up 235 wickets at 34.03.

West Indies are currently playing the second Test against Sri Lanka at the P Sara Oval, Colombo. They are scheduled to play three ODIs and two T20Is after the Test series concludes.