It is hardly a secret that Lara was foisted as captain by Ken Gordon, the president of the West Indies Cricket Board and a fellow Trinidadian, after the infamous row between the board and the players over sponsorship in 2005. A majority of the then selection committee didn't want him and none of the members of the present one want him either. But Gordon, in a move that will be familiar to most cricket fans in the subcontinent, imposed his will on them, and might want do so again. However, his hold on the board has been weakened following the World Cup debacle, and if the selectors have their way, Lara will not make the West Indian touring party for the trip to England in May. Not as captain, not even as player.

Two faced: as a leader Lara has been selfish and vindictive © Getty Images

While it would be unfair to blame one person, however powerful, for the abjectness of an entire team, those in the know firmly believe that the rot begins right at the top. Lara, they say, has never allowed the team to settle down, and worse, done his best to undermine any player who has crossed his path.

Of course, barring occasional outbursts against the selectors, he has been a model of rectitude and decorum in public, always choosing the right words, and hitting the right notes. In his press conference before the game against Bangladesh at Kensington Oval on Thursday, he repeated his apology to cricket fans and talked about the disappointment of the Caribbean nations. "The need to show character" was a phrase that came up repeatedly.

Yet, Lara, who will retire from one-day internationals after the tournament, stands accused of destroying the character of the team more than anyone else. On the field, he has been eccentric and unpredictable and some of his tactics have bordered on the bizarre. Some of his improvisations, like opening the bowling with Wavell Hinds and Dwayne Smith, have borne fruit, and he has been persuasive in arguing that he has used innovation as a surprise weapon due to the lack of too many real ones at his disposal. "I wouldn't have needed to experiment if I was leading Australia," he said during last year's Champions Trophy.

But some of the selections defied logic and cricket sense. For much of last year, Ian Bradshaw and Jerome Taylor were the team's best one-day bowlers. Bradshaw was outstanding with the new ball, often bowled his overs through and conceded about 40 runs. Taylor was beginning to master operating at the death, delivering at pace and firing in yorkers. Both have found themselves dropped repeatedly and Bradshaw has been used at first change and sometimes even at the death where he has been easy meat at his pace.

Lara picked the rookie Lendl Simmons as a batsman in the World Cup and put him at No. 8, and in the crucial, near knock-out match against New Zealand, he chose to hand a one-day debut to the 19-year-old Keiron Pollard while dropping Marlon Samuels, in whom he had expressed faith only a few weeks earlier.

Off the field, he has set a poor example to his team-mates when it comes to behaviour and personal work ethic. Genius must receive an allowance, and tales of Garry Sobers turning up at a match after a night of revelry abound in these parts. But Sobers played in a different era and he was captain for only a short part of his career. Lara has led a bunch of impressionable and far less talented individuals much prone to the risk of being led astray.

And he has been severe on the players who he has come to dislike. Ramnaresh Sarwan, a captaincy candidate who has a far better record in both forms of the game than most current players, had the mortification of being dropped on the tour of Pakistan and others have had their batting positions shuffled. Some are believed to be dead against him, while many others live in fear. It is not only a team lacking faith in its own ability, but lacking faith in their leader.

The cricket world will be poorer for Lara's departure, but for West Indian cricket it could be the way forward. It's a tragedy. Lara ought to be remembered as one of the most special batsmen in the history of the game and not a captain whose whims and sullenness destabilised an already feeble team.

What are you saying about the calibre of West Indian selectors who named this awful person as captain not once, but 3 times? Tut, tut what feeble minded men they must be! Why did they not consult you?

I am a west indian and its fair to say that u hav made some fair comments about Lara's captainancy. As a teenager however,i still tink Lara is one of the best cricketers of this modern era, if not the best...I find it unbelievable that u say that it is positive for west indies that lara retires, i believe that it was an unfair statement. As captain i understand your point but i still feel that players such as Dwayne Bravo needed Lara a bit longer 2 nurture dem on the field of play.Lets jus hope that the players have learnt from Lara

The West Indies team, seem to have lost focus. Is cricket, just a job, or something more meaningful? The cricket administration, Of The West Indies, need to consider. There seems to be lack of focus during a match, or frequent 'focus shifts' on the part of the players. They have players, who are potentially great. Chanderpaul, Samuels, Sarwan, Gayle, to mention names, are outstanding talents. Who do you blame, if a team comprising these gentlemen, finish, so erratically, when it comes to results? I percieve, no dearth of talent, in the cricket of the Carribean isles.

As a batsman he is a genius. I watched almost all the matches he played because he is an entertainer. U cann't blame Lara for what happened for the WI for last 10 years. Cricket is a team sport and everybody has to do their part.

May be it's good for WI that Lara retires because sometimes when u have a supperstar in your team u feel that he can do it for u. But now there are no superstars in WI. All have to work hard.
And there are lots of talented youngsters in WI now. And I hope and wish they will bring WI back to top.

Its a momentous occasion in the annals of cricket history when one of the greatest legends of all times retires from the international stage.At this stage, instead of launching a tirade againt his ill fated captaincy, we must appreciate the gigantous contribution Lara has made to world cricket. None can forget his perseverance after recovering from a near fatal disease and make such a monumental comeback. He enforced his supremacy in the world of cricket by reclaiming his record of the highest runs (400*) in Tests.He was a nightmare to even bowlers of the class of Shane Warne and was an outright match winner.

No doubt he was one of the biggest entertainers that the game of cricket has produced.

How could the best fast bowler in the caribbean be left out of the WI team to England? To me Pedro Collins record in this year's regional competition speaks for themselves. Also the interim coach should check the records before he make such silly comments concerning the best spiner in the West Indies.

I believe you have well overstepped your bounds regarding Lara's character. If any of this is true to any degree it hardly merits the such open condemnation, such as I have never seen for any other influential icon in world cricket. Many great captains can be said to be guilty of the same behaviour...why you see it fit to vilify this individual attests to the many obstacles-seen and unseen- Lara has had to face. Whereas I may agree with the spirit of your analysis, you border on character assasination. There are many problems in WI cricket at the moment that may have nothing to do with the game, believe me..Lara is the least of them.. you say the rot begins at the top? Why stop at Lara? Many of these issues began long before Lara came on the scene. Let the man go in peace.