West Indies players recently faced a 25 per cent pay cut as part of the financial restructuring of Cricket West Indies (CWI). The move was widely criticised as Caribbean players may be even more inclined to opt for franchise cricket instead of international cricket. Weeks later, CWI CEO Chris Dehring has blamed his cricket board's financial crisis on a decision that was made nearly three decades ago. Dehring says that a bilateral away series against India does not bring any profits to West Indies cricket. The statement comes ahead of the five-T20I series final.
"West Indies cricket receives nothing in this case, because the series is being played in India. A series that could generate $20 million to $30 million in India brings West Indies cricket no revenue," Dehring told Wisden.
"To understand how this happened, you have to go back to 1997. I was fortunate, or unfortunate, to be around when the ICC member countries voted to change the financial model that underpinned world cricket. Until then, West Indies was a very attractive team, and everybody wanted us to tour. We would receive a touring fee, which was often worth more than we could earn by hosting a series in the Caribbean."
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Before the landmark decision in 1997, the touring teams were offered a cut of the revenue made by the host teams. But among the 10 ICC member nations at that time, all but the West Indies voted in the new financial model's favour. Dehring says he knew then that it would heavily impact West Indies cricket.
"That meant India could retain the revenues generated by a population of one and a half billion people, while West Indies could retain whatever revenues we could generate in Antigua, with its population of around 100,000, or St Kitts, with around 30,000," Dehring continued.
"It was palpably unfair. We were outvoted nine to one by the ICC member countries. At the time, I said that this decision had effectively signed the demise of West Indies cricket because it took away our main source of income," he added.
West Indies cricket has been in decline over the last two decades. As a result, in addition to the 25 per cent pay cut, the contract duration of domestic players has been reduced to seven months. Also, red-ball domestic competitions have been scrapped as the board was bearing the losses.
Hope speaks in favour of players
Earlier, West Indies captain Shai Hope had expressed his views on the pay cut. He spoke in favour of players’ personal interests as they take up the sport professionally to support their families.
"The reality is cricket is no longer just recreational; there's a business side aspect to it as well, and you've got to feed your family," said Hope. "And when you're growing up, you put a lot of time and effort, a lot of sacrifices out there, so you still have to reap the rewards in some way."
Meanwhile, West Indies’ Test cricket has taken a hit in the past decade. There have been a few wins here and there including the Gabba Test win which featured a young and injured Shamar Joseph’s spirited fight. But they do not find themselves anywhere near in the contention to reach their maiden World Test Championship (WTC) final.
Players prioritise money over West Indies cricket
In the past, West Indies players have had disagreements with their cricket boards. They’ve opted to play T20 franchise cricket ahead of international cricket. One of the few examples are Kieron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell. But it was the retirement of wicketkeeper-batter and former captain Nicholas Pooran that shocked many. It did not shock cricket pundits, as they expect more international cricket retirements across the globe as players look to make money via T20 franchise cricket.
How many tournaments West Indies have won since the 1997 financial model?
In 2004, the West Indies men’s team won the ICC Champions Trophy by beating hosts England in the final. West Indies have been a powerhouse in T20 cricket. They have won two T20 World Cups (2012 in Sri Lanka and 2016 in India). In the last decade, West Indies have not been able to make it to the semifinals. West Indies did not make it past the group stages in the T20 World Cup 2021, 2022, 2024, and 2026.
Also, West Indies were not eligible to play in the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and 2025 editions. West Indies did not make it to the ODI World Cup 2023 even through the qualification route. For the ODI World Cup next year, West Indies are yet to qualify. They will have to take the qualifier route again.
West Indies’ chance to script history in India
The Hope-led T20I side has a chance to register their first-ever T20I series win on Indian soil. With a 24-run win in Hyderabad, they levelled the series 2-2. Hope has led the side from the front with two centuries in the series already. He became the fourth West Indies batter to score 2,000 T20I runs. In the previous game, Keemo Paul became the first visiting bowler to take a five-wicket haul against India.
The fifth and final T20I of the series will be played at M.Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru, on October 17. The weather forecast does not look promising as rain is expected to play spoilsport.
West Indies have been impressive with the bat in the series so far. They learned from the collapse in Lucknow and chased down the target of 250 in Ranchi. In Indore, there was no dew, and West Indies fell short of the target by 15 runs. Batting first in the fourth T20I, they posted a mammoth total of 247/3 and then defended it comfortably.
If there is no washout, the Bengaluru T20I is expected to be another high-scoring game. Hope will have a chance to break England's Phil Salt's record for most runs in a five-T20I series. He has 261 runs from four innings already and needs 71 more to get the record in his name.