West Indies’ Dwayne Bravo and India’s Suresh Raina pictured during this year’s World Twenty20 in Sri Lanka
India’s board said it was “shocked and disappointed” after being told by the West Indies board that its players would be leaving after Friday’s one-day game because of a pay dispute.
The West Indies board initially denied making a decision to end the tour but later confirmed the news.
India will instead play Sri Lanka in a five-match one-day series in November.
India led West Indies 2-1 in the ODI series after their 59-run win in the fourth match in Dharamsala on Friday.
The teams were scheduled to play one more ODI, a one-off Twenty20 international and three Tests.
December 2014-January 2015: Tour of South Africa – three Tests, three Twenty20 internationals, five ODIs
February-March 2015: ICC World Cup in Australia and New Zealand
April-May 2015: Three-match Test series v England
Captain Dwayne Bravo said after Friday’s game that the tour had ended and all-rounder Darren Sammy later tweeted: “Honey I’m coming home.”
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) released a statement on Facebook saying that Bravo had informed them “the players have taken a decision to withdraw their services for the remainder of the tour of India”.
The WICB offered to field a replacement team for the remainder of the tour but said that “was not considered acceptable” by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).
The WICB apologised to West Indies fans, cricket fans and the BCCI for this “most regrettable situation”.
The confusion started on Friday morning when the BCCI released a statement saying that the WICB had called off the tour.
“The withdrawal gives little thought to the future of the game, the players and the long-standing relations between the BCCI and the WICB,” the BCCI said.
However, three hours later the WICB released a statement denying the BCCI’s claim.
A further statement was then issued by the BCCI documenting a full timeline of the WICB’s withdrawal from the tour.
West Indies one-day captain Dwayne Bravo is among the senior players to reject the latest pay deal All of this took place whilst the fourth ODI in Dharamsala was ongoing.
After the match, Bravo said: “Not only has today been tough, but the whole tour has been tough for us.
“Everyone has stuck together despite what’s going on. We’re looking forward to playing for the West Indies again soon.”
The dispute between the WICB and the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) concerns the signing of a new agreement covering pay and conditions.
It was rejected by senior players, including Bravo, who demanded WIPA chief Wavell Hinds, a former Test opener, resign.
West Indies went ahead and played Friday’s ODI after team manager Richie Richardson reportedly confirmed by email to the BCCI their intention to withdraw from the tour.
Former West Indies fast bowler Michael Holding said it was a “very disappointing scenario”.
He told Sky Sports: “Unfortunately it’s come to the point where the players decided they were standing together, and they are totally dissatisfied with the way they have been treated.
“I have never seen anything like this happen in the past and I do not understand why the WICB have taken this stance.”
West Indies were the dominant force in world cricket from the mid-1970s until the early-1990s, winning the first two World Cups, but have slumped to eighth in the Test and one-day rankings.
In 2009, the WIPA and WICB were involved in a similar dispute when 13 leading players, including then captain Chris Gayle, went on strike and missed a two-Test series at home to Bangladesh. Bangladesh won both Tests to record only their second series win in history.
The latest impasse comes less than four months before the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
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Windies end India tour over pay row
