West Indies crisis gets worse as India scrap 2016 tour

India have suspended all future tours to the Caribbean

Darren Sammy alongside his West Indies team-mates (PA)

India have suspended all future tours to the Caribbean following West Indies’ decision to pull out of their visit to the country last week.

The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) also announced it would be suing its counterparts for lost income – a figure of £40m has been reported. This, plus the loss of income from an India tour, puts the future of West Indian cricket in serious doubt.

Because of a pay dispute with the West Indies Players Association and West Indies board (WICB), West Indies players followed through with threats to quit the tour after the fourth one-day international in Dharamsala on Friday, with one more ODI, a Twenty20 and three Tests remaining.

The BCCI quickly replaced the abandoned matches with five ODIs against Sri Lanka next month, but still stands to lose millions in revenue. India had been scheduled to tour the West Indies in February-March 2016.

“The BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) will initiate legal proceedings against West Indies Cricket Board due to the abrupt cancellation of this tour,” it said after a meeting in Hyderabad yesterday. “All bilateral tours between BCCI and WICB stand suspended.”

On Friday, the WICB apologised “unreservedly” to the BCCI and all stakeholders in the tour, and said it “looks forward to the continuation of the strong and longstanding relationship” between them.

There was media speculation that the BCCI would also bar West Indian players from the cash-rich Indian Premier League, but that was not mentioned.