Agency :
The West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) said it had been left with no choice but to abandon its tour of India after its players “withdrew their services” amid an internal dispute.
The board said in a statement it had held an emergency meeting on Friday to discuss developments in India, where the team had another one-dayer, a Twenty20 international and three test matches left to play on the tour.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced earlier on Friday that the visitors had abandoned the series and were to fly home after the fourth one-day international in Dharamsala.
The WICB said it had offered to provide a replacement team but India had declined that offer. The BCCI announced Sri Lanka had stepped in to fill the void and will play a five-match one-day series in India next month.
The West Indies board said in the statement it had spoken to team management and been informed that “the players have taken a decision to withdraw their services for the remainder of the tour of India.”
The WICB and West Indies Players’ Association signed a new agreement last month covering pay and conditions but it was rejected by the senior players, including one-day captain Dwayne Bravo who said they were kept in the dark.
The players subsequently issued a strike threat but eventually took to the field and were playing the match when the BCCI announced an abrupt end to the tour.
The WICB is to hold an emergency meeting on Tuesday to “conduct a thorough assessment of all the ramifications of the premature end to the tour” and decide what action if any should be taken.
The board also apologised to its Indian counterpart as well as sponsors, broadcasters and fans.
