Ramnarine targets Chanderpaul

Shivnarine Chanderpaul's attitude towards the West Indies Players Association (WIPA) has changed in recent years, Dinanath Ramnarine claimed yesterday. And the WIPA president and chief executive implied that the present captain had been ungrateful for what the WIPA had achieved for him personally.

"Fortunately or unfortunately, at this point in time, Shiv felt he would go and play under whatever conditions," Ramnarine said in a telephone interview on BBC's Test Match Special during the NatWest Trophy final between England and Australia.

"It certainly wasn't that way a few years ago," Ramnarine added. "I remember Shiv was one of those people who benefited significantly when WIPA fought a battle with the board to get money for players who were injured between 1999 and 2003 and never got compensation."

He claimed Chanderpaul had "actually benefited the most". Although he did not give a figure, it was reportedly US$27,000.

Ramnarine also saw the repercussions of Chanderpaul's decision to sign the WICB's match/tour contract for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka while the majority of the other senior players did not, leading to the selection of a makeshift team.

"It's rather unfortunate to have the players making a principled stand and the captain of that side going in a different direction," he told interviewer Jonathan Agnew. "It tells a story."

Chanderpaul's strained relationship with the WIPA goes back to 2002 when Ramnarine was elected president, replacing then captain Carl Hooper in the post.

It is known that Chanderpaul joined Hooper in writing to the WICB at the time, advising that they were no longer WIPA members.

While others followed WIPA's advice and initially declined to recognise match/tour contracts prior to the tour of Australia and now again for the tour of Sri Lanka, Chanderpaul signed each time.