BCCI may consider freezing bilateral ties with West Indies

MUMBAI, Oct 18:
A livid BCCI may contemplate a freeze on bilateral series with the West Indies for five years and claim hefty damages for the Caribbean team’s unprecedented move to pull out of the remainder of India tour in the wake of an acrimonious unresolved pay dispute with its Board.
The exact course of action and the amount of compensation will come up for discussion at BCCI’s all powerful Working Committee Meeting which has been convened on October 21 in Hyderabad.
The aggrieved Caribbean players, who were persuaded to take the field for the fourth ODI in Dharamsala yesterday, conveyed their decision to call off the remaining part of tour to the BCCI, which is now contemplating legal action against the visitors.
Some top Board members are of the view that a stern message should be sent to West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for abandoning the tour and creating a huge problem for the BCCI.
These BCCI officials not only want a ban on future series against the West Indies but also a bar on the participation of the Caribbean players in the IPL.
However, that is not a view shared by a majority of the members who feel that the players are not fault and should not be punished.
“We have suffered huge losses due to the decision of the West Indies to pull out of the tour. We are going to claim all the damages and pursue the matter with ICC. We have convened an emergent working committee meeting to discuss the issue as well as the visit, at short notice, by Sri Lanka,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said. (PTI)