John Dyson, the West Indies coach, has called upon the organisers of the Indian Premier League (IPL) to ensure three of his key players - captain Chris Gayle, Ramnaresh Sarwan and Shivnarine Chanderpaul - play in the upcoming Test series against Australia, which clashes with the IPL.
"It was my understanding that the IPL chiefs have said that international cricket remains the priority, and now it is up to them to keep their promise,"
Dyson told the Sydney Morning Herald. With contracts worth US$800,000, $US250,000 and $200,000 for the 44-day tournament, Gayle, Sarwan and Chanderpaul stand to gain much more than from their annual earnings from their West Indies contracts, and Donald Peters, the West Indies board chief executive, had said he wouldn't refuse the no objection certificates required by the players to feature in the league.
"What [Peters] was saying was that, with the amounts of money currently involved, if an IPL franchise was to pressure our players into completing the tournament, they would be in a very difficult situation.
"I assume the IPL bosses have sat down and thought about the long-term future of their tournament and have considered the question of where their next generation of players will come from,"
Dyson said.
"It's important, then, that they don't cannibalise international or domestic competitions as they stand, because they will presumably need players to come through in the future.
"I expect the IPL to keep their promise, and I expect our players to be back here a week before the Australian series,"
he said.
"If they don't, then it's up to the [West Indies] board to decide what the appropriate action is."
The trio are among West Indies' most experienced players, with a combined 244 Tests between them.
"I think everyone here understands the dilemma our players will find themselves in if the pressure comes down from their IPL franchises,"
Dyson said.
"Gayle couldn't make anywhere near that kind of money here."
"Tino Best [ who has joined the Indian Cricket League] gave an interview here recently, and I think he said it best. He said when he goes down to his grocery store, it doesn't matter that he plays for Barbados and bowls 90mph. The grocery, like everyone, want money, and not reputation. That is the reality of the situation for teams like ourselves, and I suppose New Zealand."
Peters, who accompanied Julian Hunte, the WICB president, to the latest ICC executive board meeting in Dubai, had claimed they would propose that a 30-day window be put in place for all the private cricket franchises to play their competitions. However, at the meeting it was decided that ICC's Future Tours Programme will not be altered to accommodate the IPL.
