Legendary West Indian batter Brian Lara predicted that his storied red-ball records will be surpassed in the coming years. The Trinidadian icon believes the aggressive batting styles of modern players make it feasible, and he has identified Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal as potential record-breakers.
The southpaw holds two prestigious batting records in the red-ball format for over two decades. In 2004, he scored an unbeaten 400 against England, which remains the highest individual score in Test cricket. Additionally, he registered an unbeaten 501 during a first-class fixture in 1994, cementing his status as the holder of the highest individual tally in the format.
According to Lara, legends like Gordon Greenidge and Desmond Haynes should have broken Gary Sobers’ score of 365.
“It was intriguing that Sir Garfield Sobers’ record was not surpassed in the 1970s and 80s, given the aggressive batting prowess of Gordon Greenidge and Viv Richards. However, several players in my era, including Virender Sehwag, Chris Gayle, Inzamam-ul-Haq, and Sanath Jayasuriya, did manage to challenge or even surpass the 300-run mark,” stated Lara to the Daily Mail.
Lara also noted that there are also some players in the current era who could challenge or break his records.
“The England team features several aggressive batters, such as Zak Crawley and Harry Brook. Similarly, the Indian squad boasts aggressive talents like Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill. If these players find the right circumstances, they could very well break records. Overall, the current crop of international cricketers seems to favor an aggressive batting approach,” he added.
David Warner became the most recent player to score a Test triple-century when he reached 335 runs against Pakistan at the Adelaide Oval in 2019. However, Australian captain Tim Paine declared the innings before Warner could surpass Brian Lara’s record high score of 400 not out.