Sangakkara unhappy with sudden decision to tour India

The West Indies tour of India descended into total chaos on Friday as the hosts said the visitors had abandoned the one-day series owing to an internal row and the Caribbean board denied withdrawing its team.
 
A day of confusion, claim and counter-claim began with the Indian board (BCCI) announcing that the visitors would fly home after Friday's one-dayer in Dharamsala following a simmering pay contract dispute involving the West Indian cricketers, their board and the players' union.

The BCCI said Sri Lanka had stepped in to fill the void and will play a five-match one-day series in India next month.

However, Sri Lanka Cricket's decision has drawn sharp criticism from Kumar Sangakkara.

"Our 6 weeks of pure fitness work ends abruptly. Have a week to do a months requirement of skills work before India. Planning ahead anyone", Kumar Sangakkara asked in a tweet.

The Sri Lankan squad are in the middle of an intense fitness programme conducted by a former national rugby skipper Chandrishan Perera, Press Trust of India reported.

The programme was tasked at conditioning players for the busy schedule ahead leading up to next year's World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

It was a sequel to a report filed by the SLC's chief operations officer Carlton Bernadus, which had raised concerns about the fitness levels and the fielding standards.

Sri Lankans were to face England in a seven-match home ODI series in December before heading off to New Zealand for a Test and ODI series.

Confusion reigned as the WICB, which had earlier conceded a players' boycott loomed large over the tour, issued a statement denying it had withdrawn the team.

"The West Indies Cricket Board advises, that, contrary to media reports, it has taken no decision to discontinue the ongoing tour to India," the WICB said in a statement.

The BCCI responded with another statement, giving a timeline of events and insisting the tour was over.

The Indian board said West Indies team manager Richie Richardson sent them an email just before the fourth one-dayer on Friday, saying the players had decided against continuing the tour and wanted to return home after the match.

The WICB and the West Indies Players' Association signed a new agreement last month covering pay and conditions but it was rejected by the senior players, including one-day captain Dwayne Bravo who said they were kept in the dark.

The players subsequently issued a strike threat but eventually took to the field and were playing the match when the BCCI announced an abrupt end to the tour which was also due to include a fifth one-dayer, a Twenty20 International and three test matches.

Bravo, who turned up for the toss accompanied by his entire team in what looked like a show of unity, appeared to have conceded that the series was over.

"Despite the situation off the field, we still gave our best effort to try and put cricket first. We played our heart out through the entire tour, sadly it comes to an end now," the all-rounder said after Friday's loss.

The BCCI said in its first statement that it was "shocked and extremely disappointed" at the withdrawal and its secretary Sanjay Patel hinted at legal action against the WICB.

"The WICB's inability to resolve internal issues with its players and allowing the same to affect an ongoing bilateral series does not reflect well on any of those involved," Patel said.

"The BCCI will pursue all options available to protect its rights, whilst seeking appropriate action from the ICC to ensure that its interests and those of the game at large will not suffer any damage due to such acts of indiscretion," he added.

The world's richest cricket board wasted little time and within hours convinced Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) to send a team for a five-match ODI series starting on Nov. 1.

"The BCCI wishes to thank SLC for its swift response and for extending its support to ensure that the international cricket season is not curtailed," Patel said.

“The series promises to be an exciting one, with Sri Lanka placed 4th in the world rankings in ODIs. India is ranked 3rd, with only 2 points separating the teams,” the SLC said.

The details of the venues and fixtures are yet to be announced.

The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said it had been left with no choice but to abandon its tour of India after its players "withdrew their services" amid an internal dispute.

The board said in a statement it had held an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss developments in India, where the team had another one-dayer, a Twenty20 international and three test matches left to play on the tour.

The Indian board (BCCI) announced earlier on Friday that the visitors had abandoned the series and were to fly home after the fourth one-day international in Dharamsala.
 
The WICB said it had offered to provide a replacement team but India had declined that offer.

The WICB is to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to "conduct a thorough assessment of all the ramifications of the premature end to the tour" and decide what action if any should be taken.

The board also apologised to its Indian counterpart as well as sponsors, broadcasters and fans.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.