India's Impasse With West Indies Ends, Indian Team to Tour Caribbean in 2016
Board of Control for Cricket in India's agreement to send team to West Indies is subject to West Indies Cricket Board and the Players Association giving a joint commitment to complete, at a later date, the tour which prematurely ended in October 2014
- Press Trust of India
- Updated: December 24, 2015 07:45 PM IST
The year-long impasse between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) ended on Thursday as the two cricket bodies decided to resume bilateral cricketing ties with an away tour of the Caribbean islands in mid-2016. (West Indies Edge Closer on Agreement to Complete 2014 Abandoned Tour of India)
India are scheduled to play four Test matches in the Caribbean in July-August, 2016. (West Indies Quit India Tour Over Pay Dispute)
A media release issued by the West Indies Cricket Board states: "WICB president, Dave Cameron today confirmed that following discussions with BCCI president Shashank Manohar, that the West Indies will host India in the Caribbean in 2016. (West Indies Pullout Costs BCCI Rs 400 Crore; WICB May be Asked to Pay Damages)
"This agreement is subject to the WICB and the Players Association giving a joint commitment to complete, at a later date, the tour which prematurely ended in October 2014. Cricket remained the centrepiece of our discussion and we are happy to be at this juncture," added Cameron. (Angry India May Scrap 2016 West Indies Tour)
Although BCCI top brass remained unavailable for comment, it is learnt from sources that after Cameron took the initiative to speak to Manohar, the BCCI supremo assured them that resumption of cricketing ties will depend on their commitment especially after the West Indies players, led by then ODI captain Dwayne Bravo, pulled out of a series against India after the fourth ODI in Dharamsala, last year.
The players had then cited the failure of the West Indies Players' Association (WIPA) and WICB to resolve the disputes arising from the MoU and Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) signed by the two parties in September 2014.
The then BCCI administration had claimed damages amounting to nearly USD 42 million. However the cash-strapped Caribbean cricket board chief Cameron and CEO Michael Muirhead had stated that they would be unable to pay such huge financial penalty. With WICB in dire financial conditions, a series against India is a definitive solution to their current state of disarray.