Drakes requests BCCI to be more lenient

Vasbert Drakes.

The recent under-19 World Cup win in Bangladesh has given the West Indies a shot in the arm during a difficult time, with the standoff between the senior players and the board over wages.

Former West Indian pace bowler Vasbert Drakes, who was part of the coaching set up for the colts team and who is in the city as coach of the women’s team, urged the Indian board to help improve the state of cricket in the West Indies.

In October 2014, the failure to come to an agreement on pay issues between the players and the board meant the West Indies had to leave the tour of India mid-way through an ODI series. The BCCI had sought compensation of $42 million for lost revenue and decided to call off bilateral tours before ties between the two boards were restored late last year.

At a time when the West Indies is facing a financial crunch, Drakes requested the BCCI to be more benevolent saying, “If the Indian cricket board decides not to squeeze us, we can put ourselves in a situation where we can develop the game of cricket.”

“The game has evolved and you have a country like India which has tremendous wealth and some of the best players in the world are coming out of India. A lot of our guys are playing in the IPL and learning so much and growing as cricketers. The relationship between India and the West Indies has always been healthy and India coming to the West Indies this year is a sign of relief.”

Unfortunate episode

Speaking about the 2014 tour fiasco and the effect it had on players and the board, Drakes said, “Without going too much into the details because I wasn’t there, it was unfortunate. We had and still have a pretty good relationship with India and still rely on India for the bilateral tours in terms of generating revenue into our cricket. It was very unfortunate.”

Elaborating on the success of the under-19 side and the hope for a more competitive West Indies side, Drakes said, “I seriously think we are making some progress. We did well in under-19 and I was involved with their preparations till December and also involved with the emerging squad.

“I still believe with our brand of cricket and the flair we have, we can bring a different dimension to the viewership of the game.”