The Board of Control in India (BCCI) says it will initiate legal proceedings against the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over the decision of the players to suddenly abandon the tour.
The BCCI working committee has also decided to suspend all bilateral tours to the West Indies, in response to the visitors pulling out over a pay dispute with the West Indies Players Association (WIPA).
India was expected to travel to the West Indies four times in the next eight years.
“The BCCI will initiate legal proceedings against West Indies Cricket Board due to the abrupt cancellation of this tour,” it said in a statement after a meeting last Tuesday in the southern city of Hyderabad.
“All bilateral tours between BCCI and WICB stand suspended,” the statement said.
The BCCI release made no specific mention of any claim for damages, but reports suggest that the BCCI suffered a loss of up to US$65 million as a result of the pull out.
The West Indies followed through with threats to quit the tour after the fourth One-Day International in Dharamsala recently, with one more ODI, a Twenty20 and three Tests remaining.
The West Indies players pulled out of the tour claiming that WIPA signed a collective bargaining agreement (CBA) and memorandum of understanding without their knowledge and consent, and has called for WIPA President Wavell Hinds to resign.
Hinds has refused, and the WICB said it will honor the CBA and memorandum.
Meanwhile, the WICB has apologized to the BCCI over the unprecedented premature end of the West Indies tour to that country after the third One-Day International.
The WICB said it was deeply embarrassed by the premature and unfortunate end to the recent tour of India and apologized to the BCCI and all stakeholders-especially the cricket loving public of the West Indies and India for the events leading up to the development.
The WICB said in a statement that it will be requesting a meeting with the BCCI as the first step in trying to repair the “longstanding good relationship” between the two boards.
According to the WICB, the board will be establishing a task force to review the premature end of the tour to India. These were the two decisions taken by the board of directors during their meeting in Barbados last week to review the fiasco.
The WICB also said it will use its best endeavors to ensure a successful tour of South Africa as scheduled.
