PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Dr. Allen Sammy said national batsman Darren Bravo and off-spinner Sunil Narine face big career decisions over the next few weeks.
Dr. Sammy, an executive member of the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board and a director of the West Indies Cricket Board, made the comment after both landed solid deals in the lucrative Indian Premier League.
The Kolkata Knight Riders swooped for Narine for a whopping US $700,000 and the Deccan Chargers signed the left-handed Bravo for US $100,000 at last Saturday’s IPL auction.
Dr. Sammy noted the IPL fell in the middle of two important Test series for West Indies – at home against Australia and on the road against England – and both national players would have to decide if to chase the money, or the glory.
“It’s a personal thing,” Dr. Sammy told the local daily T&T Newsday. “They have to make big career decisions.”
“Narine has a good chance of making the Test team. He jeopardizes his chances of making the Test team if he goes to the IPL. But young people don’t think like old people.
“It’s [a lot of money] for just six weeks of cricket and he is young so he might say he can play Test cricket for the rest of his life.”
The IPL is scheduled for April 4 to May 27, but West Indies hosts Australia from early March to the end of April, and then head to England for a tour from early May to late June.
Dr. Sammy raised the possibility of Minister of Sport Anil Roberts making an intervention, drawing parallels with the storm created when Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo did not represent T&T at last year’s Champions League Twenty20, opting for their IPL franchises instead.
“Our Minister of Sport said that if he had known about Pollard and Bravo playing for their IPL clubs instead of T&T, he would have bought out their contracts,” said Dr. Sammy.
“I’m sure the T&TCB can put it as an option to buy out Narine’s and [Darren] Bravo’s contracts. It might be something to put to the Minister for consideration.”
He said: “It’s not just playing in the IPL, its international exposure. For Sunil, it’s not just [the money], but also commercial opportunities. “It’s a [lucrative] contract if you think about it. Playing on the big stage gives him a lot more opportunities than he would have had.”
