The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) today thanked the CARICOM Community for their intervention to resolve the long-standing dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and Chris Gayle.
Published: Jul 05, 2011, 07:13 PM (IST)
Edited: Jul 05, 2011, 07:13 PM (IST)
Dispute erupted when Chris Gayle had criticised WICB for abandoning him during injury after the 2011 world cup © Getty Images
Roseau (Dominica): Jul 5, 2011
The West Indies Players Association (WIPA) today thanked the CARICOM Community for their intervention to resolve the long-standing dispute between the West Indies Cricket Board and Chris Gayle.
WIPA said it viewed the move by the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to review the matter involving Gayle and the WICB with ‘considerable optimism’.
In a statement, President and CEO of WIPA, Dinanath Ramnarine, said, “WIPA is pleased that CARICOM has heeded the call by Chris Gayle to intervene. Chris made a telling point which we see that the Heads of Government have picked up.”
“West Indies Cricket is bigger than the WICB. West Indies Cricket belongs to the people of the region and not a miniscule group of administrators who want to dictate to everyone. We fully support the move and will do all we can to make it succeed in its desire to put our cricket on a firmer foundation,” said Ramnarine.
CARICOM chairman Dr Denzil Douglas, the prime minister of St Kitts and Nevis, yesterday announced that the heads of government have decided to intervene after Gayle’s latest outburst in which he accused WICB chairman Ernest Hilaire of trying to finish his career.
The WICB reacted angrily to the allegation, claiming it was Gayle who was antagonistic and rigid.
CARICOM’s announcement came close on the heels of Guyana President Bharat Jagdeo’s criticism of the WICB.
Ramnarine thanked all the Prime Ministers for their support of the game and singled out Douglas and Jagdeo for taking the matter forward.
The dispute between Gayle and WICB goes back to his injury problems after the World Cup. He had accused the Board of abandoning him during the crisis, an allegation that was refuted by the WICB.
Gayle was eventually dropped from the team for the ongoing series against India. The two warring parties did meet a couple of times to sort out the differences but couldn’t agree on anything.
© PTI
