West Indies cricketers, the WICB and WIPA must share the blame for the fiasco in which they are all embroiled as a result of the decision to pull out of the tour of India over a protracted pay-structure dispute.Long before the team embarked on the now aborted Indian tour, the WICB and its president Dave Cameron should have ensured their agreement with WIPA on players' terms and conditions had been accepted and signed by all involved. Instead, even with threats of strike action by the disgruntled players, they left the situation to fester. Action should have been taken as soon as the spokesman for the players, ODI captain Dwayne Bravo, made known their strong opposition to the new agreement, which was signed by Cameron and WIPA president Wavell Hinds on September 18.
WIPA–the representatives for the players–also failed to carry out its responsibilities. Before finalising the agreement with the WICB, it should have ensured that members were fully informed and satisfied.The players, for their part, should have acted more professionally by completing the tour, then returning home to thrash out their differences with WIPA and the WICB.
Instead, their decision to abruptly pull out of the tour, with just four ODI games completed and T20 and Test matches still to be played, will have severe repercussions for West Indies cricket for years to come.
The US$65 million in losses the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) claims to have suffered are just the tip of the iceberg. Legal action against the WICB is likely, as the BCCI may seek compensation for those huge losses, which are mainly from television rights and ticket sales.In addition, there is the threat of India cancelling a 2016 tour of the West Indies, incurring even more huge losses since the WICB earns considerable revenue from purchase of broadcast rights, ground perimeter advertising and sponsorship by big corporations whenever India comes to the region.
There are also ominous signals from Cricket Australia, which is reported to be "deeply concerned." Australia is scheduled to tour the Caribbean next May for two Tests and three ODIs.
Some of the consequences of this aborted tour may be known as soon as today, after the BCCI's working committee meets to decide whether to impose a freeze on future West Indies tour and claim damages. The governing council of the Indian Premier League (IPL) is also due to meet today and West Indies players' participation in future editions of that lucrative league could come up for discussion.
With all these developments, there is a heavy tinge of "too little too late" over the meeting of WICB directors taking place today in Barbados. However, the outcome of those deliberations is also critical. Hopefully, the WICB will come up with some sensible solutions and reach more acceptable agreements with WIPA and the players sooner rather than later. They don't have the luxury of time–not with a South Africa tour due to take place December 10 to January 28, followed soon after by the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.