BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (CMC) – Directors of the West Indies Cricket Board have failed to reach a definitive position on whether a player opting out of the central retainer contract scheme should be captain of the West Indies team.
Chief Executive Officer of the WICB Ernest Hilaire will wait until the selection panel, comprising Clyde Butts (convenor), Courtney Browne and Robert Haynes, has nominated a captain for upcoming assignments before having this discussion.
“At that particular time, the directors would engage in a discussion on the recommendation as they normally do, and all the issues will be fully ventilated,” said Hilaire at a media conference on Sunday, following a two-day WICB directors meeting.
The post of captain has now become a critical issue, after incumbent Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo, one of the possible alternatives, rejected central contracts from the WICB over the last couple of weeks.
It has made Gayle’s position extremely shaky, and with no easily identifiable replacement, the issue has now become one of public discussion.
Hilaire indicated the central contracts required players to make themselves available for all playing commitments arranged by the WICB, but the captain had no extra-special stipulations.
“When the matter is discussed by the directors, I will have my views then,” said Hilaire, when quizzed about his own view on the matter.
“But let’s take it from the initial premise, would you hire a security guard if he couldn’t guarantee you he will always come and secure your place for you at nights?”
West Indies are set to visit Sri Lanka from November for a series of three Tests and five One-day Internationals.
A captain and a squad for the series are to be named later this month, following the regional One-day competition in Jamaica.
In the prevailing circumstances, long-standing West Indies correspondent Tony Cozier has plumped for Darren Sammy as the next West Indies captain in his weekly newspaper column syndicated throughout the region.