The West Indies cricket team pulled out of the remaining part of its India tour on Friday in the wake of an acrimonious pay dispute with its Board.
The aggrieved Caribbean players took the field for the fourth ODI in Dharamsala after much persuasion, but confirmed their decision to call off the tour later.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India said it was shocked and extremely disappointed by the West Indies Cricket Board’s decision. It’s 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, it added.
"The withdrawal gives little thought to the future of the game, the players and the long-standing relations between the BCCI and the WICB," read a strongly-worded statement from the Indian board.
The West Indies team was scheduled to play one more ODI, in Kolkata, on Monday and a Twenty20 in Cuttack on October 22. They were also scheduled to play three Test matches in Hyderabad (Oct 30-Nov 3), Bangalore (Nov 7-11) and Ahmedabad (Nov 15-19).
Against the backdrop of the West Indies team's withdrawal, Rediff.com takes a look at instances when cricket tours have been called off midway through a series.
West Indies in Sri Lanka in 2010-11
The five-match ODI series was severely affected by persistent rain and bad weather. Despite rescheduling of matches the tour had to be called off.
Sri Lanka called off Pakistan tour after terrorist attack
Sri Lanka in Pakistan in 2008-09
Terrorists opened fire on bus carrying Sri Lankan players and a van carrying officials to the ground on the third day of the Lahore Test. Six members of the Sri Lankan team were injured, Thilan Samaraweera sustaining shrapnel wounds on his thigh. Six Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed. The tour was cancelled and players were air-lifted from the Gaddafi Stadium.
South Africa in Sri Lanka in 2006
After the two-Test match series, and before the start of ODIs, a bomb exploded outside the hotel where the South African team was staying. This led to the abandonment of the tour.
Sri Lanka in New Zealand in 2004-05
Initially, the Boxing Day Test was rescheduled after the tsunami in Sri Lanka, but the Sri Lankan players wanted to go home and the tour was subsequently called off.
Kiwis decided to call off Pakistan tour following bomb explosion
New Zealand in Pakistan in 2001-02
New Zealand called off their tour after a Test match when a bomb exploded outside the hotel where the team was staying
New Zealand in Sri Lanka in 1992-93
Before the tour started there was a terrorist bomb attack. Some of the players ventured outside and were confronted by a harrowing scene: Gavin Larsen nearly stood on a scalp, and other human body parts were scattered around the scene. Some of the players returned to New Zealand and were replaced. The tour was reduced to two Tests and three ODIs.
New Zealand in Sri Lanka in 1986-87
The tour comprised three Tests and four ODIs, but the visitors cancelled the tour after the first Test in the light of communal unrest and a bomb explosion in Colombo that killed over a hundred people.
India called off tour after Indira Gandhi’s assassination
India in Pakistan in 1984-85
The second ODI (which was in progress at Sialkot) and the third Test scheduled to be played at Karachi was abandoned along with the remainder of the India's tour following the assassination of Prime Minister Mrs Indira Gandhi.
England in Pakistan in 1968-69
The second Test, scheduled to be played at Dacca (Dhaka), was cancelled because of political unrest in East Pakistan, but the English side was persuaded to stay. However, during the third Test at Karachi, rioters stormed the ground and England immediately left for home.
West Indies in England 1939
The last seven matches of the tour had to be cancelled because of the outbreak of the Second World War. The tourists sailed back to the Caribbean shortly before the War of the Atlantic began.
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