Samuels denies being part of abandoning Indian tour

Kingston: West Indies captain Dwayne Bravo has hit back at Marlon Samuels for claiming that he was not part of the ODI team’s plan to abandon the troubled tour of India, saying that his teammate was an “interested party” and spoke “vigorously” during the meetings he attended. Samuels had said that since he was not accredited with the West Indies Players Association (Wipa), he wanted to focus on finishing the India tour before raising any objections concerning the contract and memorandum of understanding signed between the Wipa and the WICB.

“Wavell Hinds cannot negotiate on behalf of me so I know that once I continued (to play) I just needed to finish this tour and then I would have asked questions,” Samuels, the first player to speak out about the controversial decision taken by the players, was quoted as saying by the local media. “The main thing first was West Indies cricket, that is why I remained focussed throughout everything,” he had said.

Bravo said he was “shocked” at the claims made by Samuels. He said Samuels contributed vigorously to the discussions held and indicated clearly at that time that he would stand with any decision taken by the team. “I note the comments attributed to Marlon Samuels from media reports and wish to state that Samuels was invited to and did attend the majority of meetings with the players on tour,” Bravo said in a media statement.

“We extended invitation to Samuels with full knowledge that he is not a member of Wipa but was an interested party. Samuels contributed vigorously to the discussions held and indicated clearly, at that time, that he would stand with any decision taken by the team. I am therefore shocked to see the statements, if true, that have been attributed to Samuels.” West Indies players abandoned their tour after playing the fourth ODI at Dharamsala because of a pay dispute with their Board. They were to play another ODI, one T20 match and three Tests.

Meanwhile, the players have retained legal counsel as they prepare to tackle the contentious Collective Bargaining Agreement signed by their union, but Samuels has opted not to pursue this course of action along with his team-mates. This was confirmed in a release on Friday by Bravo. Bravo stressed that while he had undertaken the role of spokesman for the players, all correspondence during that period had been issued with the full backing of the players. The senior all-rounder said the playing group had been boosted by the widespread support they had received, though they had also received criticism in some quarters.

“We recognise that a few have attempted to put the blame squarely on the players without the full knowledge of the facts. This is regrettable since a few persons are making statements without knowing all the relevant facts. In time we believe all the facts will come to light,” Bravo said. “We do not wish to make any further statements on this matter since the players on tour (except Mr. Samuels) with some additional players who did not tour India have appointed Counsel to represent them in this matter. We look forward to a speedy resolution and that our concerns are addressed in a satisfactory manner.”