"A team in transition for the last 10 years" - Aakash Chopra not surprised by the West Indies' dismal batting in 1st Test vs India

Aakash Chopra has said that he is not at all surprised by the West Indies' batting capitulation in the first Test against India.

Kraigg Brathwaite and Co. were bowled out for 150 after opting to bat first on Day 1 in Roseau on Wednesday, July 12. The visitors ended the day at 80 for no loss in their first innings, with Yashasvi Jaiswal and Rohit Sharma unbeaten on 40 and 30 respectively.

During a discussion on JioCinema, Chopra was asked how he assessed the West Indies' batting, to which he responded:

"Personally, I am not surprised at all, and no disrespect but I am not surprised because when they decided to bat first and there was moisture on the pitch, it seemed like three-four wickets will fall in the first session and four eventually fell as well. It also seemed like we will get to see India bat today itself."

The former Indian opener added:

"I am not surprised because the level of West Indies cricket has gone downwards, there is no doubt about that. A team in transition for the last 10 years and the opposition team is coming after playing two consecutive WTC finals."

The West Indies have not won a Test match against India since May 2002. They have lost 14 of the last 23 Tests between the two sides.

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"Should Test cricket be tiered?" - Aakash Chopra on the massive gulf between West Indies and India

The West Indies have finished eighth in the last two WTC cycles.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Aakash Chopra highlighted the massive gap in quality between the two sides and questioned whether the World Test Championship should be divided into two tiers:

"There is a massive gulf between West Indies and India. The other thing that emerges from this is that stories like the World Test Championship are very good to hear but should Test cricket be tiered - Tier 1 and Tier 2?"

Chopra added that it is difficult to judge individual performances in such lop-sided contests:

"It is not enjoyable to watch the match if there is a big gulf between the two sides. When you see the performances, you are not able to gauge their value properly."

The West Indies are enduring a horror run across formats in the last few years. Although limited-overs cricket was considered their forte earlier, they failed to qualify for the group stage of the last T20 World Cup and haven't made the cut for the upcoming ODI World Cup either.