Dear Editor,
I applaud the relatively early selection of the squad for the World Cup, the choice of players (although I think more than15 should have been chosen in light of the issue with the world`s greatest limited- overs spinner), and would have liked to see Emrit included. I am also happy to see that preparations will start by Feb 22.
As for the upcoming tri-team series scheduled for June, I believe the rule rendering ineligible for selection, players who did not participate in the recent tournament in Trinidad, is not in the best interest of West Indies cricket. It would lead to the exclusion of several players who might otherwise be selected. As important is the certainty that in subsequent series more and more of the top players would be excluded on that basis. I have already observed in the Stabroek News that the acceptance of offers by players like Sammy and Holder to play in foreign twenty over leagues is clear evidence that the issue is not one of the greed of Gayle, Bravo and Pollard, as so many people have suggested. In the real world, people move for short or long terms to places they may not even like if the remuneration is sufficiently attractive. Sometimes they may even owe a duty to their loved ones to accept such offers. There are some iron laws of economics that cannot be ignored in an enterprise economy.
The rule should be changed immediately to recognize the reality that there are not enough high quality cricketers in the Caribbean to automatically exclude such a large number of them from participation in international encounters. Sometimes, indeed often, these inflexible rules do more harm than good. It is useful to bear in mind that the players who do not play in those foreign competitions are, generally speaking, not invited.
There must be more flexibility.
Yours faithfully,
Romain Pitt
