MUMBAI:ndia may scrap their tour to the West Indies in 2016 as a result of the West Indies’ abrupt cancellation of the India series in Friday. The BCCI is considering legal actions and is seeking the intervention of the ICC.
The West Indies abandoned the series against India with an ODI, a T20I and three Tests left to be played. The pullout resulted from the pay dispute between the West Indies players and the WICB. The board said that it was left with no option but to abandon the tour following the stance taken by Dwayne Bravo and the players. The BCCI have roped in Sri Lanka for a five-match ODI series next month.
Speaking to Reuters, BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said, “It will be very difficult to play West Indies in bilateral series in future. They have to demonstrate the willingness that such situations never happen again. I would say that India’s next tour of West Indies is highly unlikely to go ahead in the current situation.”
India were scheduled to tour the West Indies in early 2016 for three Tests, five ODIs and a T20I. Patel went on to say that whatever was the root cause of the issue, the West Indies should have honoured the bilateral agreement. He thanked the SLC for agreeing to tour on a short notice and expressed disappointment that the Tests could not be fitted in due to lack of time.
The BCCI has called an emergency working committee meeting on Tuesday to discuss the issue. “We have suffered huge losses and the ICC is our parent body and we are going to ask them to ensure that this never happens in the future,” he said.
During the course of the fourth ODI in Dharamsala, the BCCI announced that the West Indies team was flying home after the ODI. The WICB retorted and released a statement denying that the team had withdrawn. As the game progressed, the WICB apologized to the sponsors, broadcasters and fans in a statement. They offered to provide a replacement team but India declined.
The WICB said it had spoken to team management and been informed that “the players have taken a decision to withdraw their services for the remainder of the tour of India.”
The WICB and West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) signed a new agreement last month covering pay and conditions but it was rejected by the senior players, including ODI captain Dwayne Bravo who said they were kept in the dark.The players subsequently issued a strike threat during the first ODI in Kochi but eventually played that game.
During the fourth ODI, Bravo assembled with his whole team for the toss and they took to the field on the insistence of HPCA president Anurag Thakur. The WICB is to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to “conduct a thorough assessment of all the ramifications of the premature end to the tour” and decide what action if any should be taken.(PTI)