BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – Marquee batsman Dwayne Smith says he finds untenable the deafening silence from Caribbean Premier League officials over outstanding payments to Barbados Tridents players for the 2018 season.
The 35-year-old raised the issue of non-payment of monies last December but said last week there was still no word from the league or Tridents franchise on when the situation would be rectified.
“It is very frustrating because we don’t go out there just to play cricket. It’s a our job and when we do our job we expect to be paid,” Smith said.
“It’s something we really need to look at. No one is saying anything, you don’t know what’s going on and all we’re hearing is everybody asking about when is the draft.”
There has been no word on the date of the draft for the 2019 tournament, even though league officials announced in January it would take place between August 21 and September 27.
And there has also been rampant speculation over the future of the Tridents franchise, especially in light of the recent legal troubles of owner, Indian Dr Vijay Mallya.
The business tycoon, who purchased the Bridgetown-based franchise back in 2016, has been exiled in the United Kingdom in recent years, battling extradition to India where he is wanted by the courts there to face US$1 billion in alleged fraud and money laundering charges.
A judge in London ruled last December that Mallya could be extradited and last month, the UK Home Secretary Sajid Javid approved the extradition order.
Smith, a key member of the Tridents unit, said he was no longer comfortable playing for the franchise while it maintained the same ownership.
“We need to know something about our money as well. I for one don’t know if I’ll be playing again under this same ownership,” Smith stressed.
Tridents have seen lean times of recent. Last year, they lost eight of their 10 preliminary matches to finish last and miss out on the playoffs for a second straight year.
Smith managed only 185 runs from seven matches, with a single half-century.
