Photo: West Indies team (WICB)
The contractual dispute between the West Indies players, their own players association (WIPA) and the West Indies Cricket Board, has led the players to call a premature end on Friday to their tour of India.
India is regarded as one of the richest, most powerful cricketing nations on earth by many in the cricketing arena and despite not pursuing any immediate legal actions against the WICB and its players for the boycott of the remainder of the tour, the BBCI announced on Tuesday that it was suspending all future bilateral series, threatening financial ruin for the sport in the Caribbean.
The BCCI also announced it would launch legal proceedings to recover at least $65 million (£40 million) in losses as a result of the West Indies team action.
As with all other Test-playing nations, West Indian cricket relies heavily on broadcasting deals, perimeter advertising and sponsorship generated from tours by the Indian team, which is due to visit in 2016 and 2017, and four times in total over the next eight years. Without that income, it is hard to see how West Indian cricket, which was $5 million in debt last year, can survive, forcing its administrators to beg for a compromise.
The West Indies board would also be crippled by a legal bill of $65 million if a compromise deal is not struck with the BCCI to resolve a dispute which began at the end of last week when the West Indies team, captained by Dwayne Bravo, pulled out of the tour due to a protracted contractual dispute.
The tour agreement between the boards is likely to be governed by Indian law and it is the courts there that will handle any claim for damages. If India should stay true to their words and cancel the 2016 tour of three Tests, five one-day internationals and a Twenty20 this could cost the West Indies around $50 million.
The actions of the players, WIPA and the WICB may just have placed West Indies cricket on the precipice from which there is no return.
You must be logged in to post a comment Login