cricket west indies salary deduction

West Indies Cricket Team (AFP)

By ETV Bharat Sports Team

Hyderabad: West Indies’ players are likely to face a salary cut as Cricket West Indies (CWI) is set to announce a 25% reduction in retainer fees as a part of multiple steps being executed by the board according to a report by ESPNcricinfo.

The board is said to be taking the steps for implementing "a comprehensive counterattack against all the challenges we face financially, developmentally and competitively". With the new implementations in place, the international cricketers will be on contract for 12 months but the domestic players will now be on retainer contracts which are reduced to a span of seven months.

West Indies have been one of those cricketing nations where the players have prioritized playing in the franchise T20 league over national duty.

Cricket West Indies CEO Chris Dehring has called the ICC’s revenue-sharing model “inequitable” and said it is in need of dissection and debate.

As they face mounting financial pressure, CWI will cut international players’ retainer fees by 25%, suspend the domestic men’s Super50…

"We appreciate the spirit of cooperation of the West Indies Players' Association and the players who have demonstrated their understanding of the circumstances we all face," CWI chief executive Chris Dehring said, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.

"Our domestic tournaments as structured historically, where Cricket West Indies bears the entire cost of every national team and tournament - whether it is age-group, development or senior for both men and women - including salaries, match fees, airfares, hotels and event staging costs, are simply unsustainable,” he added.

"The high cost of domestic travel and accommodation absorbs too much of our scarce resources every year instead of being deployed for the direct benefit of our cricket.”

With the Super50 tournament suspended, the selectors might have a tough time ahead while selecting their picks for the 50-over national side. West Indies missed out to qualify for the ODI World Cup 2023 and are set to take part in the qualifier for the 2027 edition. CWI have announced that they will now arrange a few white-ball matches to get players for their ODI side.

CWI have announced qualification tournaments for the men's and women's events at the 2028 LA Olympics. As the West Indies Islands will participate in the separate countries, the dynamics of selection in the West Indies cricket might change in the future.