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Journalism of Courage
In a bizarre turn of events, the West Indian team failed to turn up for their scheduled practice-cum-acclimatization session on the eve of the first ODI at Kochi, instead opting to stay back in the hotel to sort out differences regarding revenue sharing with their cricket board. To boot, skipper Dwayne Bravo also skipped the customary pre-match press conference and the trophy unveiling. Their no-show on Tuesday also led to conspiracy theories regarding the visitors’ whereabouts and even briefly cast doubts over the opening game of the five-match series.
Those fears were dispelled subsequently with both the BCCI and the WICB asserting that the ODI and the rest of the series would continue as per schedule. But for a brief while, even the Indian board was left bemused by the strange scenario and it took a call from a senior official to the WICB president Dave Cameron to clear the air.
“A top official spoke with the WICB president directly and found out that there was an internal issue. But his response wasn’t very clear, and he simply said they were trying to sort it out. The BCCI simply told them that they make sure that the match happens,” a senior BCCI official said.
There was no official word from the West Indian camp. But sources revealed to this paper that there had indeed been a dispute and that despite agreeing to turn up for the first ODI at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium, it was unlikely that the men from the Caribbean were in the right frame of mind for the contest.
“It’s not a strike and it wasn’t a decision taken consciously to skip practice. The players were meeting with Richard Pybus (West Indies director of cricket) and Clive Lloyd (chairman of selectors) at the same time and hence couldn’t make it,” the source clarified.
Unlike previous pay disputes that the West Indian players had been involved in, the present one concerns the recently put-in-place revenue-sharing model based on the agreement signed between the WICB and the West Indian Players Association (WIPA) led by Wavell Hinds.
Based on the new agreement, some amount of the WICB’s revenue was supposed to trickle down to the regional group of domestic players rather than remain exclusively with the international players. Hinds had called it ‘not a perfect document’ while signing it two weeks ago.
“Some of the international players were to facilitate pay for the regional players in this new structure, which they said they would. But the percentage that they were asked to give up was never agreed to. The deal was pushed through regardless. They found out about it once they reached India. Obviously they’re not happy with the percentage,” the source explained.
He also revealed that the issue had been a major topic of discussion among the present members of the squad ever since they landed in Mumbai last week. But with the ODI series starting on Wednesday, it wasn’t surprising that things would come to boil a day earlier.
“They’ve spoken about it since they arrived in India in small pockets. The arrival of skipper Dwayne Bravo from the CLT20 (he reached Kochi on Monday) has escalated the matter,” the source added.
The WICB and the WIPA have had a history of clashes regarding player payments over the last decade or so, with the players going up in arms and boycotting series both in 2005 and then famously in 2009. That year, a Chris Gayle-led team threatened to boycott an ODI against England in St Lucia before all the players embargoed a Test series against Bangladesh that same year. But the news from the West Indian camp is that things were unlikely to go out of hand this time around.
“It doesn’t look as bad as 2009. They just need to readjust the figures. That’s all the players want to happen. They just want to know where they stand and how much their earnings will get affected,” the source said.
He also was insistent that the issue was far from being completely sorted out, and that a lot more meetings were scheduled to take place between the board, the WIPA and the players in the coming days with Hinds likely to visit India. Over the next two weeks, Bravo & Co will have the enormous challenge of trying to compete against the world champions in their backyard, even as their minds try to conjure how much of an impact it will have on their pockets.
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