THE ultimatum given Friday to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) to pay up US$42 million within 15 days underscores the crisis stage facing this Region’s biggest sport that involves so much of our life in this Caribbean region.As passionately argued by the BCCI, having unilaterally aborted last month a scheduled tour of India, the WICB must be aware of the resulting financial cost to them for failure to deliver a committed home tour, in addition to the overall damage to their reputation.
The BCCI’s ultimatum, in a four-page letter to WICB’s President, David Cameron, came amid feverish efforts in regional capitals to find a practical resolution to the spreading crisis, the latest being a mediation initiative by the Prime Minister of St. Vincent and The Grenadines, Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, outlined in a letter late last week to Mr. Cameron.
While the independence and overall jurisdiction of both parties to the dispute, BCCI and WICB, must be respected, the nature of the crisis and the grave implications for maintenance of historical treasured relations between India and the nations of this Region cannot and must not be jeopardised.
Too much is at stake and, consequently, NO effort should be spared to secure, as quickly as possible, a practical resolution. This means involving people of power, influence and goodwill at all relevant levels. More than cricket—the sport that so richly distinguishes both India and the West Indies—is involved.
Immediately after the shocking decision by the West Indian players to abort the scheduled tour of India, the Prime Minister of Grenada, Dr. Keith Mitchell, had volunteered to help in a mediating role and appealed for good sense to triumph.
Dr. Gonsalves’ subsequent initiative was more directly articulated in a letter to the WICB that was released to the media. It indicated likely involvement of other potential mediators including himself, Dr. Mitchell and former Jamaica Prime Minister P.J. Patterson.
Then by Friday came the disclosure of the BCCI’s demand for the WICB to pay US$42 million within 15 days or face legal action and related consequences.
Now is the time, therefore, for governments and all people of goodwill, in India and across this Region, as well as other cricket-loving countries of the Commonwealth, to focus on how best they could help avert this dread looming crisis that clearly involves the BCCI and WICB.