… files notice of dispute with WICB
THE West Indies Players Association (WIPA) has questioned the decision to exclude Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul from the West Indies squad for the first two one-day internationals against Pakistan. The association suggested there were factors other than performance, potential, playing conditions and preparedness that were behind the decision, and these reasons were not explained to the players.
This, according to them, does not constitute a fair and transparent selection process, and is in breach of the Memorandum of Understanding between WIPA and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB). They have therefore filed a notice of dispute.
The WICB’s explanation of why the three experienced players were excluded was that it was in keeping with their policy to expose young players to international cricket.
The WICB chief executive Ernest Hilaire also added that none of the senior players had been axed permanently, and that the selectors would explain to every player how they fit into the long-term plan.
WIPA issued a press release yesterday, saying they supported the incorporation of young blood into the team, but that should not come at the expense of the obligation the board had to treat every player fairly.
The press release also referred to how Gayle was stripped of the captaincy in 2010 after Hilaire had made comments suggesting he was not guaranteed to continue in the role back in 2009, before Hilaire had assumed his role of chief of the board.
The exclusion of Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul comes after a disappointing World Cup campaign for West Indies in which none of the three batsmen scored a half-century against a Test-playing nation.
WIPA and WICB have been at loggerheads over several issues in the past, the most significant stand-off between the two bodies being the one over player contracts that resulted in WIPA boycotting the Bangladesh home series in 2009.
The player association had also slammed WICB’s decision not to give Sarwan a central retainer in 2010.
In its press release, WIPA has said that given their exclusion from the national squad, Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul should not be stopped from trying to earn money by playing cricket outside the Caribbean. (Cricinfo)