Confusion reigns over Ramdin's T&T captaincy

Despite reassurances offered by Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board that he has not been sacked, Denesh Ramdin has reiterated that he was told he would be replaced as T&T captain.

He insisted that he was being "punished" for supporting the move by West Indies players to abandon the India tour last month. Ramdin said that the TTCB move was a "breach" of the agreement reached last week between the players, WICB and West Indies Players' Association, where it was decided to set up a three-member task force to negotiate a deal between the three groups.

Ramdin, the West Indies Test captain, said n a public statement issued on Thursday that things had been made "unnecessarily difficult and uncertain" for him since his return from India.

"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," Ramdin said. "Although I felt hurt and embarrassed, I knew that I should remain committed to my responsibilities."

Ramdin's latest response is a direct contradiction to TTCB president Azim Bassarath confirmation to ESPNcricinfo on Wednesday that Ramdin remained the T&T captain. Bassarath also said that a decision over whether to replace him as captain for the regional competitions, one of the recommendations made by the selectors, would be taken at the board's meeting this weekend.

On Monday Ramdin met with Bassarath and executives of TTCB including Suraj Ragoonath (CEO), Arjoon Ramlal (secretary), Sukesh Maniam (treasurer), Patrick Rampersad (third vice-president) and Gus Logie (T&T coach). The meeting took place at the National Cricket Centre in Balmain, Couva in Trinidad where Ramdin said he was told Rayad Emrit would be his successor.

"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," Ramdin said.

Both Bassarath and Rampersad had explained that since Ramdin was likely to be busy playing for West Indies in various international series between October and the World Cup which ends in March, the selectors had recommended that a new captain be appointed. Both men insisted a final decision on Ramdin's future as T&T captain would be taken at the TTCB executive meeting this weekend, though a media release on the board's website indicated otherwise.

Titled "Heavy WI schedule rules Ramdin out", the release said: "The unavailability of Denesh Ramdin for selection for nearly all of the 2014-2015 regional cricket season was the deciding factor in the decision to appoint a new national team captain. And Ramdin, the West Indies Test team captain who was among the players who recently pulled out of a tour of India, was told this at a meeting on Monday with officials of the T&T Cricket Board."

Ramdin pointed out that on October 31 he along with fellow Trinidadian and West Indies ODI captain Dwayne Bravo along with their legal counsel attended a meeting with WICB president Dave Cameron, and Emmanuel Nanthan (vice-president) and one of the WCIB directors Baldath Mahabir, who also sits on the TTCB executive board. WIPA president Wavell Hinds participated in that meeting via Skype. Also present were the Ralph Gonsalves, Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Keith Mitchell, Prime Minister of Grenada. "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," Ramdin said.

"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," Ramdin said.

In a release issued on Tuesday the WICB listed what it called "updates" from the various meetings between the board of directors on October 30 and November 4. It stated that Michael Gordon QC would be chairman of the task force along with former West Indies fast bowler Wes Hall and Dennis Lalor.

The WICB directors also decided after a conference call today to finalise the date next week to pick the squads for the South Africa tour, which starts in December.