A crisis appears to have been averted between the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (T&TCB) and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) making sure that 15 players selected for the Champions League will turn out when the tournament starts on October 10 in South Africa.
It is alleged that the five players who are currently in Sri Lanka representing the West Indies at the World Cup had asked WIPA to demand more money on their behalf for the trip.
The players are Darren Bravo, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, skipper Denesh Ramdin and leg-spinner Samuel Badree.
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The players demanded that the T&TCB give them a share of the transfer fee they got for Indian Premier League (IPL) players Sunil Narine, Dwayne Bravo and Keiron Pollard. The TTCB got $150,000 for each of the three players.
The board refused the players’ demand and they were replaced.
But chairman of the selection panel Dudnath Ramkessoon said the situation is now under control and the five players in Sri Lanka will be joining the squad in South Africa in time for the tournament.
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The T&T Cricket Board said each player on the 15-man squad is guaranteed a payment of more than $20,000 for the two qualifying matches slated for October 10 and 11 in Johannesburg.
Should the team advance to the main draw of the competition, the T&TCB is guaranteed an additional $200,000, before taxes.
And the T&TCB has informed the squad, comprising 15 players, five technical staff and three administrators that 75 per cent of the monies and any other prize money won by the team will be shared among them.
In South Africa, the T&T team will wear a kit outfitted with the logo of National Gas Company of T&T for which the players will receive more than half of the negotiated sponsorship.
The sponsorship input, plus 75 per cent of the participation fee which the T&TCB will collect make up the more than $20,000 payment to each player on the squad, the T&TCB said.