What a shame to the game of Cricket.... Disgruntled West Indies to leave India after Dharamsala ODI Dharamsala: The West Indies team will leave India after the conclusion of the ongoing fourth ODI in Dharamsala, meaning that Fridays match will be the last of the tour. The sudden move forced the BCCI to scramble together a hurried replacement series, with Sri Lanka Cricket accepting the boards invitation to play five ODIs between November 1 and 15. That something strong was brewing had come become evident at the toss in Dharamsala, when West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo was accompanied by his entire team for the toss in what can only be described as a strong show of solidarity against the backdrop of the dispute with the WIPA over cuts in player fees. The BCCI confirmed the news in a statement not long after reports started filtering in of the West Indies decision to withdraw from the tour with one ODI, a Twenty20 international and three Tests still to be played, in which it expressed shock and surprise. The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has informed the BCCI of its decision to cancel the rest of its ongoing tour to India because of a dispute with its players, and has advised the BCCI that its players will return home immediately, read the statement issued by board secretary Sanjay Patel. The BCCI is shocked and extremely disappointed at the decision taken by the WICB. The WICBs inability to resolve internal issues with its players and allowing the same to affect an ongoing bilateral series does not reflect well on any of those involved. The withdrawal gives little thought to the future of the game, the players and the long standing relations between the BCCI and the WICB. The BCCI wishes to inform all its stakeholders, especially ardent fans of the Indian cricket team, that this is a unilateral decision taken by the WICB and its players, in spite of several appeals to the WICB to honour its commitment and complete the series. The BCCI will pursue all options available to protect its rights, whilst seeking appropriate action from the ICC to ensure that its interests and those of the game at large will not suffer any damage due to such acts of indiscretion. The Indian Express, meanwhile, reported that sources within the BCCI claimed the board was looking at legal against the WICB for the financial losses incurred due to the pull-out of the West Indian team. With the BCCI apparently not going compensate the tourists, Dwayne Bravos team will return to the Caribbean on their own expenses. At the toss, Bravo had spoken strongly about how difficult it had been to take the field. As you can see, my team is standing behind me. Its been a tough situation, a tough tour for us so far. We dont want West Indies cricket to suffer and we dont want our fans, back home and here in India, to suffer, he said. This is the reason we represent the West Indies team but its come that time when we have to make a decision as a team. Things havent been going our way but we try our best. [We are] Yet to come to any agreement, yet to come to any contract so something might happen, we dont know what will happen. I must give credit to my boys for all the fight theyve put up, sticking it through this tough time. We just want to go out and play our best during this game. The clash between WIPA and the players first came to notice during the series opener in Kochi. It was then reported that BCCI had to interfere in the matter in order to clear things between India the two boards. According to reports on Friday, it took a lot of convincing from the BCCI and the Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association to ensure the West Indies played the fourth ODI. The team was scheduled to arrive at the stadium around 2:30pm IST on Thursday for practice, but that didnt happen. In fact, they were not even willing to address the media but following a lot of request from the HPCA, the press conference took place. During the conference, West Indies manager Richie Richardson ducked a question about the tensions between the two parties, saying: We are here to play cricket and our focus isnt on anything else. Richardson also said that they just arrived whereas rumour had it that they the team was out visiting neighbouring McLeadganj, which had many doubting the attitude of the players. The fact that they even skipped practice on Thursday came as a surprise in view of their fragile batting. The touring team had threatened to go on strike on the eve of the five-ODI series due to the new contracts handed to the players, which would have seen their salaries drop by 75 per cent. Bravo has written to WICB president Dave Cameron, asking for the WIPA to be dissolved as the team felt hoodwinked by the manner in which it agreed to the new contracts without consulting the players. Disgruntled with its players association due to an ongoing pay dispute, the West Indian team has sought the cricket boards urgent intervention to dissolve the body as it no longer had the authority to speak on the sides behalf. West Indies and India were scheduled to play the fifth ODI in Kolkata, followed by a one-off Twenty20 international in Cuttack and Tests in Hyderabad, Bangalore and Ahmedabad. The BCCI said it will confirm the new itinerary within 48 hours. ODI at Visakhapatnam was abandoned because of cyclone Hudhud.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 14:11:09 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015