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India flex muscles with threat of double punishment for West Indies West Indies warn India of ‘serious implications’ of suing over tour
(about 4 hours later)
India confirmed the potentially ruinous financial implications of the latest crisis to hit West Indies cricket by threatening a double punishment for the abandonment of the recent tour that would raise serious questions over the future viability of the game in the Caribbean. The West Indies Cricket Board has called on its Indian counterparts to consider the “serious implications” of taking legal action against the WICB after the abandonment of the recent tour.
Sanjay Patel, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, who has become the public face of the administration while the president, N Srinivasan, is suspended, signed a press release announcing not only that legal action would be taken against the West Indies Cricket Board for an abandonment that is said to have cost the BCCI more than $60m (£37.2m) in sponsorship and television contracts but also that India would be suspending all future bilateral series against West Indies. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced on Tuesday that it plans to sue for losses of more than $60m (£37.2m) in sponsorship and television contracts and suspend all future bilateral series against West Indies after last week’s decision to return home after the fourth of five one-day internationals.
However, after a meeting held on Tuesday last night to discuss the potential long-term implications for cricket in the Caribbean, a statement from the WICB apologised for pulling out and vowed to “repair the damage” caused.
“The West Indies Cricket Board regrets, and is deeply embarrassed, by the premature and unfortunate end to the recent tour of India,” the statement read.
“The WICB once again expresses to the BCCI and all stakeholders – especially the cricket-loving public of the West Indies and India – sorrow for the events leading up to this development.
“The WICB believes a way can be found to repair the damage that has been caused and to ensure similar events do not recur, with the focus being on the betterment of West Indies and world cricket,” the statement added.
There is no question of the cash-strapped WICB being able to afford the damages India would seem likely to demand, and the loss of a planned home series against India in 2016 would bankrupt them anyway, so reliant are they – like the majority of other cricketing countries – on the television income generated by the game’s global giants.There is no question of the cash-strapped WICB being able to afford the damages India would seem likely to demand, and the loss of a planned home series against India in 2016 would bankrupt them anyway, so reliant are they – like the majority of other cricketing countries – on the television income generated by the game’s global giants.
So India’s statement can be interpreted only as sabre-rattling, perhaps for a domestic audience – with a notable lack of sympathy for the WICB.So India’s statement can be interpreted only as sabre-rattling, perhaps for a domestic audience – with a notable lack of sympathy for the WICB.
Srinivasan could yet emerge as a key figure in plotting a way out of the crisis in his other role as chairman of the International Cricket Council, which has not been affected by his domestic suspension because of his involvement in an investigation into corruption in the Indian Premier League. The BCCI president, N Srinivasan, could yet emerge as a key figure in plotting a way out of the crisis in his other role as chairman of the International Cricket Council, which has not been affected by his domestic suspension because of his involvement in an investigation into corruption in the Indian Premier League.
The ICC has no direct involvement in this dispute, as series are now negotiated bilaterally between the boards of the competing teams. But Srinivasan and Giles Clarke, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board who attracted such opprobrium for driving through the reforms of the ICC earlier this year, cannot be expected to sit on their hands given the possibility of one member effectively driving another out of business.The ICC has no direct involvement in this dispute, as series are now negotiated bilaterally between the boards of the competing teams. But Srinivasan and Giles Clarke, the chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board who attracted such opprobrium for driving through the reforms of the ICC earlier this year, cannot be expected to sit on their hands given the possibility of one member effectively driving another out of business.
Dave Cameron, a Jamaican who took over as president of the WICB last year, has already been asked for a full explanation of how the crisis was allowed to develop and seems certain to face some tough questions at a meeting of the ICC board early next month.Dave Cameron, a Jamaican who took over as president of the WICB last year, has already been asked for a full explanation of how the crisis was allowed to develop and seems certain to face some tough questions at a meeting of the ICC board early next month.
There are major issues in the short-term over whether West Indies will be able to send a team for a tour of South Africa next month and then to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand early next year. England are due for a three-Test series in the Caribbean after that, which is another crucial one financially both for the WICB and for tourism in general, but it would clearly be premature to speculate on the possibility of that series not going ahead.There are major issues in the short-term over whether West Indies will be able to send a team for a tour of South Africa next month and then to the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand early next year. England are due for a three-Test series in the Caribbean after that, which is another crucial one financially both for the WICB and for tourism in general, but it would clearly be premature to speculate on the possibility of that series not going ahead.
“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge before then,” said an England and Wales Cricket Board official.“There’s a lot of water to go under the bridge before then,” said an England and Wales Cricket Board official.
The WICB held a crisis meeting in Barbados on Tuesday, hours after India had flexed their considerable muscle, with indications that they were ready to plead with the BCCI but not with the players who informed the board on the eve of last Friday’s fourth one-day international in Dharmasala that they were not prepared to continue the tour.
The West Indies team have been in dispute with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) over the signing of a new collective bargaining agreement and memorandum of understanding, which would see sponsorship payments reallocated to fund the wider professional game in the islands.The West Indies team have been in dispute with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) over the signing of a new collective bargaining agreement and memorandum of understanding, which would see sponsorship payments reallocated to fund the wider professional game in the islands.
But the BCCI has laid the blame squarely with the WICB, ruling out the possibility of any West Indies players losing their lucrative contracts in the Indian Premier League as punishment for their behaviour.But the BCCI has laid the blame squarely with the WICB, ruling out the possibility of any West Indies players losing their lucrative contracts in the Indian Premier League as punishment for their behaviour.
India have already named a 15-man squad for the five-match one-day series against Sri Lanka that was hastily arranged to provide some cricket to replace the missing West Indies matches. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a notable absentee, with Virat Kohli taking over the captaincy, although Dhoni will be back well before India defend the World Cup.India have already named a 15-man squad for the five-match one-day series against Sri Lanka that was hastily arranged to provide some cricket to replace the missing West Indies matches. Mahendra Singh Dhoni is a notable absentee, with Virat Kohli taking over the captaincy, although Dhoni will be back well before India defend the World Cup.