WI Players Contemplating Strike Ahead Of Kochi ODI

Hours before the start of the first ODI in Kochi, the West Indies players have threatened to go on strike over proposed pay-cuts by the West Indies Cricket Board and have mulled the possibility of pulling out of the first one-dayer, much less the series.

It is being understood that the President of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) Wavell Hinds did not take the consideration of players while preparing the new Memorandum of Understanding under which the cricketers undergo a significant pay-cut. According to Windies skipper Dwayne Bravo, the morale of the team was at an "all-time low" and if considerable changes were not made, the players will be forced to take "matters in their own hands".

"We believe we are being hoodwinked and are being treated like little school boys, yet we are being asked to perform and play as professionals," Bravo wrote in a letter to Hinds.

The players did not take part in the practice session on Tuesday and even skipped the press conference. This leaves the possibility of a strike wide open. The WICB sent a press release, where it apologised to the BCCI and the fans provided their players decide not to take part in the Kochi one-dayer. The Board also said they'll do every bit of work required to make sure that doesn't happen.

In the letter, Bravo and Co. insisted that they would want the old pay-structure back because under the new MOU, the players "understand" their Test, ODI and T20 fees "have been decreased by 75 percent"; that they will receive "no compensation for the use of our rights. Furthermore, the fact that the players were not informed about the new pay-structure in the MOU is what disappointed them the most. Bravo also said they were informed about the new structure only after landing in India and that Hinds never answered the queries of players regarding the same.

"We are disappointed with the lack of proper representation and the players are now forced to make this proposal without any details as to how this new purported agreement was even arrived at and by whom, since the only advice we have received from you as President and CEO of WIPA is to not sign the contract /agreement that was sent by the WICB. The players are of the view that as a matter of principle, we should not accept these conditions whereby we are being asked to play a series against India without any certainty of what are our obligations and what we will be playing for," the letter revealed.

The players now want WIPA to negotiate an agreement with WICB which includes the say of players. "We wish at this stage to once again reiterate our position as a way forward, let us continue under the old structure until we are able to properly negotiate a fair and reasonable agreement in the best interest of West Indies cricket. This in our view is a sensible approach since it would give us players an opportunity to have an input, seek the necessary advice and put our house in order."