WICB say they were left with no option but to call off tour

The West Indies Cricket Board has criticised skipper Dwayne Bravo and said it was left with no option but to call off the tour of India following a strike by its players in the wake of an acrimonious ongoing pay dispute with WICB.

The aggrieved Caribbean players, who were persuaded to take the field for the fourth ODI, conveyed their decision to call off the remaining part of tour to the BCCI, which is now contemplating legal action against the visitors.

"The WICB clarifies that players in the West Indies squad currently in India represented by Mr. Dwayne Bravo indicated to the WICB through the West Indies Team Management that the players have taken a decision to withdraw their services for the remainder of the tour of India," the WICB said in a statement.

"As a result of this action by the players the WICB was left with no option but to advise the BCCI that it will no longer be able to provide a West Indies team for the remaining five matches (5th ODI, T20 International, three Test matches)."

The WICB has called for an emergency board meeting on October 21 in Barbados to decide all the "ramifications" arising of the players’ pullout and take any actions if necessary. The WICB did not rule out penalising players and it would be discussed at the meeting.

After the pullout following the fourth ODI in Dharamsala, a livid BCCI said it will be going to ICC and was planning to sue the WICB and claim for damages.

"We will not take this lying down as we have cooperated with them in every aspect," BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel had said.

Patel pointed out that the WICB's inability to resolve the growing differences between players and West Indies Players Association (WIPA) over the payment dispute led to the current situation.

Though it did think of sending a replacement West Indies team, the idea was "not considered acceptable" to the BCCI.

The WICB "unreservedly apologised" to the BCCI, the sponsors and the fans both in Caribbean and India. PTI AH

Defending its position, the Board said: "The WICB clarifies further that as a result of postulations by the players, the tour was under a cloud of uncertainty from the inception. The WICB, acting prudently, advised the host board -- BCCI -- of the developments and remained in constant contact to provide updates as to the threat of possible player action."

The WICB further said that it was about to send a delegation led by its CEO Michael Muirhead along with Julian Charles (the cricket committee chairman) and WIPA president and CEO Wavell Hinds to India on October 20 to negotiate with the players.

"The WICB regrets that the delegation which was pre-scheduled to travel to India to meet with the players on a number of issues will no longer be able to conduct such meeting at which the intention was also to discuss the concerns of the players.

"This meeting was scheduled prior to any issues being raised with the new MOU/CBA and it was intended to acquaint all the parties of how it would roll out. This was necessary as the WICB did not have an opportunity to so do in the Caribbean due to the logistical challenges of assembling all the players prior to departure for the tour of India (some of the players were already in India participating in the Champions League).

"The WICB CEO, Mr. Muirhead and WIPA President/CEO Mr. Hinds had been in negotiations with regard to finding a mutually agreeable position to allow for the full tour to be completed."

Image: West Indies' Dave Cameron

Photograph: Charlie Crowhurst/Getty Images