Gayle and Sarwan plead their case

Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan have issued a statement giving their position about not touring with the West Indies during the 2005 tour of Sri Lanka.

The release issued yesterday by Attorney at Law Sanjeev J. Datadin states:

"Christopher Henry Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan wish it to be known that despite not participating in the current West Indies Cricket Team Tour to Sri Lanka 2005 they are firmly committed to West Indies Cricket and the loyal West Indian cricket fans. They wish it be known that regrettably they found themselves in a painful and difficult situation regarding their participation in the current West Indies Tour of Sri Lanka.

"Their absence was a consequence of circumstances which were unresolved despite the apparent resolution of the major stumbling block in the dispute after intervention on their behalf. They were faced with two difficult options; firstly to refuse to play for the West Indies and appear to be selfishly abandoning West Indies Cricket and the many loyal fans who have supported them faithfully over the years, and to whom they owe a debt of gratitude for their loyalty; and secondly, one in which if they choose to participate in the tour they would appear to be abandoning their team mates and colleagues who have sought their support with whom they have fought many a battle and achieved success for the West Indies on the field of play.

"They wish to record their disappointment in the way the dispute was handled and the enormous pressure placed upon them by both sides of the dispute.

They chose not to tour and to stand in solidarity with their colleagues. In no way was their decision an endorsement of the position of either side of the dispute." The statement further adds that the decision not to tour was a difficult one and that if offered the opportunity again to play for the West Indies they are likely to consider their position independently.

The duo is said to be looking forward to representing the West Indies team and being full contributors to West Indies cricket in the future by doing their part in restoring West Indies cricket to its former glory.

"Both players wish to express their disappointment with the handling of the entire matter and encourage the stakeholders of the dispute to embark upon a process of resolution in utmost good faith and a spirit of compromise. They fear that the current approach to the resolution of the dispute is only likely to deepen the divide between the stakeholders and is unlikely to bring resolution to a dispute which is so painful to them and to every West Indian.

Further, they wish it to be known that they accept and recognise the right of each individual cricketer to determine for himself whether to tour or not and wish the current representatives of the West Indies cricket team well on the remainder of their tour of Sri Lanka and wish to in no way be associated with any criticism of those players whether public or in private."