The chief spokesman for the West Indies team that withdrew their services on a tour of India has expressed shock that Marlon Samuels has distanced himself from the actions taken by the players.
Dwayne Bravo, the West Indies One-Day International captain, said yesterday that the Jamaican batsman attended the majority of the meetings and appeared to be in solidarity with the remainder of the players.
Bravo’s response came a day after Samuels told a Jamaican radio station that he stayed in his room for most meetings and instead preferred to allow his bat to do the talking.
“We extended an invitation to Mr Marlon Samuels with the full knowledge that he is not a member of WIPA [West Indies Players’ Association] but was an interested party,” Bravo said in a letter to the media.
“Mr Samuels contributed vigorously to the discussions held and indicated clearly, at that time, that he would stand with any decision taken by the team. I am therefore shocked to see the statements, if true, that have been attributed to Mr Samuels.”
Bravo also confirmed that the players on tour, with the exception of Samuels, had sought legal representation in the interest of resolving the impasse that was triggered by the players’ grouses with WIPA and ultimately led to the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) discontinuing the tour on October 17. (HG)
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