The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has assured that there are no threats over the ongoing series between India and West Indies and the two teams will play as per schedule.
West Indies players had threatened to boycott the series opener in Kochi over pay dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB), but they went on to compete in the first ODI.
The dispute between the players and the WICB is not yet resolved but the BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel had talked to the Windies players and insisted that he has got assurance from the players that they will not boycott the matches.
“I want to clarify that there is no threat to the India versus West Indies series,” Patel said. “The matches will go on as per schedule. In fact, I have spoken to a few officials from the WICB and have got assurance that there will be no disruption.”
“I got an e-mail from WICB chairman Dave Cameron, who thanked the BCCI for playing a pro-active role,” he added.
Patel also pointed out that the series is part of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Future Tour Programme (FTP) and it a duty of every nation to abide by it. The BCCI secretory also offered to act as a ‘mediator’ to help settle the dispute.
“Look, our job was to ensure that the series is run smoothly. This series of 3 Tests, 5 ODIs and a T20 International was chalked during the FTP calendar of 2007-08,” Patel pointed out. “Future Tours Programme (FTP) is sacrosanct and all the member nations must abide by it.”
“You cannot disrespect what was decided in FTP calendar,” he added. “I told them that there isn’t a problem that can’t be sorted out across the table. If WICB wants, we can mediate once the series ends. These players are good boys and they know their duty.”
