WIPA, players in dispute

West Indies Players’ Association (WIPA) President Wavell Hinds has refuted claims made by members of the West Indies cricket team in India that they were not consulted during the negotiations for the new Memorandum of Understanding with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) and insisted that there will be no resignation by members of the current WIPA executive.

Hinds was replying to a letter from the West Indies cricketers currently on tour in India, signed by one-day captain Dwayne Bravo, which stated, “We believe that this present WIPA executive under your leadership has failed to properly represent the best interest of all the players.”

In response to Bravo, Hinds stated, “I am compelled to first refute in the strongest possible manner all your previous assertions claiming ignorance on the part of the “senior players” regarding the proposal to discontinue the payment of US$35,000 per day of cricket for the benefit of members of the senior West Indies team, and the reallocation of these monies to help fund retainer contracts for an additional 90 members of WIPA.”

Hinds referred Bravo to the minutes of WIPA’s AGM in February where it was recorded that Bravo expressed support for the initiative.