The fact that wicketkeeper/batsman Denesh Ramdin resigned from the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) may have cost him his job as captain of the West Indies Test team.
This according to former West Indies manager Omar Khan who says that he understands that many of the senior players have resigned from the players body after they again negotiated a poor contract for them
Khan said: “It is alleged that a number of senior West Indies players have resigned from the Players Association (WIPA) with Ramdin being one of them, and it seems as if this has cost him the captaincy.”
Ramdin was replaced by ODI captain Jason Holder last week as captain of the Test team for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka. The West Indies play two Test matches, three ODIs and two T20s on this tour and Holder will take charge of both the Tests and the ODIs, while a T20 captain is yet to be confirmed. Whether the West Indies selectors continue with St Lucian Darren Sammy or choose another candidate is yet to be seen. Opener Kraigg Brathwaite will serve as deputy to Holder for the Test series.
Khan continued: “The relationship between the WICB and the WIPA is known to be very close and it may have been the thinking of the board that they needed their Test captain to be a member of the players body. I hope that this is not the case because if it is, then it is a very sad state of affairs.”
Ramdin was one of the players who aborted the West Indies tour of India last October over a payment structure dispute between WIPA and the WICB.
“I cannot understand how they could have removed Ramdin from the post of captain. He skippered in 14 Test matches, won four, lost seven and drew three. This record was not bad given the fact that he was rebuilding a team,” added Khan.
“All the other international teams have given their captains time to build their squad and it is unfortunate that Ramdin’s tenure has been cut short. The WICB has failed in terms of preparing their leaders. When you look at the other countries, they send their captain and those who they think could become leaders to seminars to develop them. This is not done at the WICB, they just ignore this and once they continue to operate in this manner our cricket will continue to be in the doldrums.”
Khan said he was totally puzzled at the current situation and would like those involved to come clean. “The WICB sends out a press release stating that the directors of the board unanimously agreed to remove Ramdin based on a recommendation from the selectors. Yet one of the directors Azim Bassarath comes out and says that he knew nothing of this and is not supporting the move. At the moment people are trying to fool the people of the Caribbean and it is about time someone speaks the truth.”