Cricket: Windies to regret leaving India early

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The decision by the West Indies cricketers to abort their tour of India due to a pay dispute could cost the hosts at least $12.6 million per match for the remaining fixtures.

With one 50-over international, one T20 and three tests still scheduled, that adds up at least $62 million in broadcasting rights, sponsorships and sold tickets.

It's a sum the West Indies Cricket Board simply cannot afford, should the Board of Control for Cricket in India sue, and an expensive outcome for what looks like an exercise in bloody-minded penny-pinching.

The West Indies board confirmed the cancellation yesterday following manager Richie Richardson's earlier email to the BCCI that the fourth one-day match at Dharamasala would be their last.

India moved quickly to prevent a black hole in their finances and have invited Sri Lanka to play five one-day internationals.

The decision by the West Indies is naive. The players, whose match fees were recently renegotiated by their players' association, WIPA, should have aired their grievances earlier.

Although one can have sympathy with them over the hardline attitude of the WICB, who said they would negotiate with WIPA but not the players, there's a lot more at stake than has been lost.

WIPA used to be militant but this time, under new chief executive Wavell Hinds, they appear to have agreed a cut in fees paid to players by the WICB. Instead of everyone getting $3050 per match, only those playing get that amount. Those on the subs' bench now get $1140, an overall reduction across the squad.

What appears to have irked the BCCI most, and remember many of the West Indies team earn a good living in the Indian Premier League, was the expectation they would pay the differential to keep the West Indies on tour.

West Indies players have previous when it comes to pay disputes with their board, with incidences in 1998 and 2009.

To avoid similar disruption, series under the Future Tours Programme are meant to be sacrosanct which is why, when India have finished suing the WICB, and perhaps blocking their players in the IPL, the International Cricket Council will flex their punitive muscles as well.

After that, everybody in West Indies cricket is likely to be a lot worse off.

Other tours that ended abruptly

West Indies in England (1939)

The outbreak of WWII meant the last seven matches of the tour were cancelled, with the West Indies' party boarding a boat in Scotland to sail back to the Caribbean.

England in Pakistan (1968-69)

Political and student unrest dogged the tour throughout but it seemed the series would be played out to a finish when the teams arrived in Karachi for the third and final test. A riot on the third morning saw the match abandoned and the series tied at 0-0 when England's Alan Knott was four runs short of what would have been his maiden test century.

India in Pakistan (1984-85)

The assassination of Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi sparked 13 days of national mourning and meant the final three matches were cancelled.

Sri Lanka in Pakistan (2008-09)

Sri Lanka were on their team bus on the way to the second test in Lahore when terrorists opened fire, injuring six members of the touring party. Sri Lanka went home and no major international matches have since taken place in Pakistan.