Embattled West Indies head coach Phil Simmons is standing his ground and until he gets answers, he will not meet with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB).
Simmons was suspended by the WICB after he made public comments on the non-inclusion of Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard on the One Day International (ODI) team for Sri Lanka. Simmons said at a press conference that the reason for the continued snub of the T&T duo was due to "outside interference".
He was immediately suspended and replaced by selector Eldine Baptiste as coach for the current series in Sri Lanka.
The WICB appointed a human resource committee to meet with Simmons to discuss the matter. It is understood that if they find anything that needs to warrant discipline then Simmons would be sent to the disciplinary committee.
Simmons has written the WICB asking that they clarify which regulation he breached so that he could prepare himself before meeting with any committee.
Only after getting a response from the WICB would Simmons then seek to meet with them to discuss the issue further. The former Ireland coach's fate now lies in the hands of the WICB, while his team under young Jason Holder battles Sri Lanka in its own backyard.
Holder speaking in Colombo ahead of the Test series said, "The comments made by Phil were by Phil, and I can't comment on those things. It's down to him and the board. We can only control the cricket because that's what we came here to do. Whatever his situation, his fate lies with him and the board. Hopefully he can deal with that and be back to us as soon as possible.
"No doubt [Simmons' suspension] is a bit of setback for us, but at this present stage, all we can do is focus on the cricket. I just hope that the situation with him is solved quickly because we would love to have him back. He's been a wonderful inspiration to our team thus far." Simmons took over coach of the West Indies team immediately after the World Cup that was played in Australia and New Zealand earlier this year. He started off with a 1-1 draw against England in the Caribbean and this followed a 0-2 loss to Australia also in the Caribbean.
The West Indies cricket team has a very hectic schedule ahead as it battles Australia for three Tests towards the end of the year down under and then hopefully the powerful Indians for four Test matches in the Caribbean.
Later next year the regional team will also play host to South Africa and Australia for a tri-series, so the WICB will be looking to get this issue out of the way before hand.