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BCCI unlikely to claim damages from WICB

The BCCI is unlikely to claim damages from the WICB right away, for West Indies having pulled out of the tour to India mid-way, but it could hit them with a series embargo

Amol Karhadkar
Amol Karhadkar
20-Oct-2014
The BCCI is unlikely to claim damages from the WICB right away, for West Indies having pulled out of the tour to India mid-way, but it could hit them with a series embargo. The BCCI's working committee, which will discuss the consequences of the pullout in Hyderabad on Tuesday, is also unlikely to suspend West Indies players from the IPL.
The BCCI's financial losses due to the cancellation of a major portion of the scheduled series could touch Rs 400 crore (US$65 million approx), but instead of claiming damages at this point, the working committee could decide to issue the WICB a legal notice, asking it why it shouldn't be penalised right away for the breach of bilateral agreements signed between the two boards. Given that the WICB has been struggling financially, the BCCI is unlikely to claim huge damages right now.
However, the BCCI hierarchy is of the opinion that the WICB's breach is severe enough to sever ties with the board and amend the draft FTP accordingly. At the moment, India are set to tour the West Indies four times in the next eight years. But BCCI officials are all but sure that the team will not tour in 2016 (four Tests), and possibly in 2017 (five ODIs and a T20).
The working committee might also approve the draft of a formal request to the ICC to step in and ensure that teams do not return home mid-way through a tour for reasons other than natural calamities and security issues.
Some BCCI members are of the opinion that the players themselves - who had forced the pullout due to a payments-structure dispute with the board and their players' association - should be directly penalised by suspending them from the IPL for a period, but that is unlikely to happen. The BCCI top brass is convinced that the West Indies players were not really at fault in the dispute with the board. Moreover, even if the members demand action against the players, they are likely to be told that it will be virtually impossible to do so considering the IPL players enter into a tri-partite agreement with the BCCI and their franchise.
Also, since the franchises are backing the West Indies players and the team owners feel they now have a greater say in the running of the league, West Indies cricketers are set to continue playing the IPL.

Amol Karhadkar is a correspondent at ESPNcricinfo