West Indies opening batsman Lendl Simmons said Tuesday that it is unlikely that he will represent the Guyana Amazon Warriors for the upcoming 2016 Caribbean Premier League (CPL) T20 competition.
Simmons and the local franchise are locked in negotiations over his fee for playing in this year’s tournament.
Simmons has been the team’s highest run-scorer over the past three seasons but told Stabroek Sports Tuesday that despite his performances, his fees have been decreasing each year.
“The first year of CPL in 2013, I received US100, 000 and I finished with the second highest runs in the tournament behind Shoaib Malik who played for the Barbados Tridents.
“In 2014, they retained me at US90,000 and I wasn’t happy about it especially after doing well the payment decreased despite me being MVP of the tournament and ending with the most runs as well, Simmons told this newspaper from Australia where he is representing the Brisbane Heat in the Big Bash T20 League.
“We had Sunil Narine who was the icon player so he got the most and that’s fair, but after him there’s another bracket where I thought I should have been but they didn’t see me worth it.
“In 2015, I finished with the fourth most runs and now in 2016 they want me to sign for US90, 000 again.”
With strong stats in the CPL since its inaugural year in 2013, beefed up by highlight-reel quality batting performances around the world in various competitions such as the Indian Premier League (IPL) where he has settled in as one of the most prolific scorers for the Mumbai Indians, the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL), or the ongoing BBL, Simmons has been a proven commodity at the top of the order.
He has been the most consistent run-scorer as well as a match-winner for the Amazon Warriors and said he deserves a little more respect from a franchise that he has remained loyal to over the previous seasons.
“For the past three years I have been the leading run-scorer for the Amazon Warriors as well as the entire CPL and they want me to sign for US90, 000? That’s an insult to me so I said I won’t sign for anything less than US130, 000 if not, I rather go into the Draft and play for someone who recognizes my ability and what I bring to the team.”
When asked what response he received from the Amazon Warriors camp after informing them of his requirements to be a part of the team for 2016, Simmons said he
was told “Thank You for your services for the past three years”.
He said it was not that he does not wish to play for Guyana but, “Apparently they can get someone to do the job better than me,” he said.
With December 31st 2015 being the deadline for franchise teams to retain players, the Mumbai Indians opener said that he will be in the draft but isn’t getting his hopes up about being roped in by the Warriors who were reluctant to retain him anyway as he doesn’t see the Warriors paying more for him in a draft when they could have simply met his requirements.
Besides Malik, Simmons is one of the top selections in the CPL in the batting department.
In 2013 he ended with 266 runs at an average of 33.25 with a top score of 67 not out while in 2104 he shot up to the number one spot in the batting rankings, smoking 446 runs from 11 matches at an average of 49.55 with 97 being his highest score. In last season’s edition, the opener ended the tournament with 317 runs, averaging 39.62 with 65 not out being his top score.
Simmons has played 34 T20’s and 68 One Day Internationals (ODI) for the West Indies and has played huge roles in the Warriors reaching the finals twice.
He said that he strongly believes that franchises should pay special attention to their local players and ensure that they are treated fairly and paid according to their worth.
Meanwhile, sources told this newspaper that a few key players including skipper Denesh Ramdin and action-embattled off-spinner Sunil Narine will also not be a part of the Warriors team after some three years while New Zealand star batsman Martin Guptill is likely to return to the Warriors setup after representing the St Kitts and Nevis Patriots last season.
