The West Indian Players Association today said that recent rumours circulating that Guyanese and West Indian player Ramnaresh Sarwan was under investigation by the ICC for match-fixing are false.
The release said that WIPA President and CEO, Dinanath Ramnarine, having spoken with International Cricket Council (ICC) officials, confirmed that any such rumours or reports are “completely baseless and untrue”. He regretted, however, that it took so long for the matter to be put to rest publicly.
According to the release, Ernest Hilaire, the WICB CEO, in a response to a request from WIPA, admitted that “The WICB has become aware in recent days that reputable media houses have published and broadcast stories about Ramnaresh Sarwan which did not emanate either from the WICB or from the ICC. While the Board will continue to maintain its practice of not responding to rumours and mischief as it pertains to any anti-corruption issue relating to any player, we have viewed the matter (even before receipt of your letter) as important enough to warrant an official release from the Board, which we have been preparing and will be issuing shortly.”
Hilaire added, “The WICB does not think it is necessary that official communication from either the ICC or ACSU on any matter involving anti-corruption should be shared with third parties unless such is needed for conducting investigations and then only on the request of the ICC or ACSU. You may wish to request any information directly from the ICC or ACSU.”
WIPA said it has made the point that in many other matters the WICB has reacted very quickly and churned out news releases. WIPA has questioned why this was not the case in this instance since Sarwan would be deeply concerned about the “possible effect of such allegations on his credibility, livelihood, reputation and character .”
Replying to Hilaire, WIPA said that it was “extremely disappointed and deeply concerned” by the WICB’s inaction given the “very serious and false allegations” made against Sarwan. WIPA reiterated that Hilaire had admitted that the WICB was acutely aware that misinformation was being broadcast about Sarwan by reputable media houses in the Caribbean and that it was unfortunate that the WICB did not see it fit to address the matter and “protect the good name of Mr. Sarwan by taking immediate action to support the player and prevent damaging speculation, humiliation and embarrassment with respect to one of its long serving players.”
WIPA explained that the ICC saw the reports and, in an effort to dispel the allegations against Sarwan, wrote to the WICB. However, WIPA said that instead of dealing with the matter speedily and frontally, the WICB told WIPA that either the organisation or Sarwan should go to the ICC directly if they wanted more information.
Commenting on the issue, Sarwan said, “This has hurt deeply to know that the WICB had the information all the time and up to this time has not spoken publicly on the matter. I am deeply disappointed.”
In a statement today, the WICB said:
“The WICB has become aware that reputable media organizations have published and broadcast a story about Ramnaresh Sarwan which did not emanate either from the WICB or from the ICC and can only be sourced to an anonymous blog.
“Any and all issues relating to anti-corruption in international cricket are managed by the ICC Anti Corruption and Security Unit, which briefs players directly and informs the players’ Board as necessary on the status of any investigations.
“The Board will continue to maintain its practice of not responding to accusations, stories, rumours and mischief as it pertains to any anti-corruption issue relating to any player.
“The WICB views rumour mongering on anti-corruption or on any cricket related matter as irresponsible and reprehensible.
“The WICB appeals to established and reputable media organizations to maintain professionalism in the execution of their mandate and to seek credible sources of information. The West Indies Cricket Board re-iterates its zero tolerance policy towards anti-corruption in all forms of cricket.”
