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West Indies test cricket captain Denesh Ramdin has responded to news of his imminent replacement at the helm of his local team by accusing the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) of intentionally attempting to humiliate him.
The following is a press statement by Ramdin:
I wish to make this public statement.
I have been advised that it is improper for me to speak on the issue of the recent tour to India and that I must defer to the authority and deliberations of the Task Force appointed by the WICB to inquire into that tour. However, I wish to state that the circumstances that I have endured since my return to the Caribbean have been made unnecessarily difficult and uncertain.
I am a professional cricketer and I have committed myself fully to West Indies cricket and to cricket in Trinidad and Tobago, my home.
I accept and understand the responsibility that I owe to my region, my country, the WICB and the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board. I am fully aware that my responsibility is even greater, since I hold the positions of West Indies Captain and Trinidad Captain. I have experienced no greater pride than in representing my country and the West Indies cricket team.
I feel compelled to state that on my return from India I was restricted from attendance at a practice session with the Trinidad and Tobago team on Thursday, October 30, 2014. Although I felt hurt and embarrassed, I knew that I should remain committed to my responsibilities.
On Friday, October 31, 2014, in my capacity as Captain of the West Indies cricket team, I attended a meeting with the WICB and chaired by the Honourable Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. At that meeting the WICB was represented by the President of the WICB, Mr. Dave Cameron, the Vice President of the WICB, Mr. Emmanuel Nanthan and Mr. Baldath Mahabirand, who is also a member of the Trinidad Board. The Honourable Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada also attended the meeting.
At that meeting, the WICB gave an undertaking that the WICB would not in its selection policy victimise nor discriminate against any player who had gone on the tour to India.
At that meeting, the WICB also informed that it was appointing a Task Force to inquire into the events that led to the pre-mature ending of the India tour.
On Monday, November 3, 2014, I attended a meeting with the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board. At that meeting, I was told that since I did not demonstrate proper leadership in relation to the tour in India, I would be relieved of the captaincy and would be replaced by Rayad Emrit. I understood this to be a punishment contrary to the undertaking given by the WICB at the meeting on Friday, October 31, 2014.
I am also advised that this action is a breach of my rights having regard to the fact that the Task Force appointed by the WICB has not made any findings and has made no findings of misconduct against me.
I remain available to freely communicate with the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board and to receive communications therefrom on any matter pertaining to Trinidad cricket and to my involvement therein.
I have always been courteous and respectful in my relationship with the Board and I look forward to a harmonious relationship in the service of my country as a professional cricketer. I believe that it is the discipline and commitment that I have displayed that commended me to the position of Captain in the first place.
In spite of the actions of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board, I wish to assure the public that my love for my country, for my region and for the game of cricket will never diminish and I humbly look forward to serving in our quest to regain glory within and beyond the boundary.
Denesh Ramdin,
West Indies Test Captain.
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I don’t know about him but that is malicious discrimination to me . That board needs a rude awakening . That board is corrupted and needs to be dealth with before it becomes just like Fifa .
Well sue them
I don’t know what happened in India, but by Ramdin’s deportment over the years, I trust him when he says he has cricket’s interest at heart. I will not believe he is guilty of any misconduct and TTCB need to reconsider their position because the people are getting impatient with the administrators of cricket in the region. Like you all want some serious action to replace you all, ah what???
We call that playing smart with chupidness.
This was always in the making. The TTCB are the most vindictive bunch of WICB ass lickers i’ve ever come across. Has anyone seen/heard comments from the Bajans, Guayanese, Jamaicans or Small Islanders Cricket Boards??
I am baffled by what is being packaged and repackaged by the TTCB concerning Ramdin and the Captaincy Job. Any HR Expert or Corporate Attorney will tell you that what transpired at that Monday meeting is nothing less than Constructive Dismissal.
these boards facking up we players and they cant go out on the field and play shit
Thanks Hazel Elizabeth. This was all Denesh Ramdin though. I was sent a press statement.
*holds head and wonders where I can hit it*
Way that was well said Ramdin. I hope this fiasco blows over soon
Very well articulated. Keystone cops the TTCB
Good Interview Lasana Liburd!!!
Hmmm
Denesh, you have certainly evolved beyond “Yeh, Viv. Talk nah.” Kudos to you. but your scenario raises another interesting question. The current T&T side features both the current WI Test captain in Sarwan and the ODI captain in Bravo. Was Bravo dismissed from that captaincy race outright as well. Was he selected for the team at all? The answers here would be interesting indeed and would show how much there might be to the victimisation in the India aftermath.
Forgive my slip there. I don’t know how Sarwan’s name ended up in that mix. Ramdin was in fact who I meant.