PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC:
DROPPED TRINIDAD and Tobago player Imran Jan is seeking redress for his case through the controversial West Indies Players' Association (WIPA), the Trinidad Express reported yesterday.
The 25-year-old left hander, one of the architects of Trinidad & Tobago's conquer of the West Indies Limited Overs championship last month, said he had secured president and CEO of WIPA, Dinanath Ramanarine, to take up the issue with the Trinidad & Tobago Cricket Board.
IN WIPA'S HANDS
He was quoted as saying that the matter of him being dropped from the upcoming Carib Beer Cricket series was "in WIPA's hands now".
Jan also explained that after two failures in the opening position and following the third game of the WICB tournament against Jamaica, he approached captain Daren Ganga and the management team about the possibility of moving down the order.
He said he was told that he was "the senior man" and given his experience in that position as well as the inexperience of the other players, the team would be best served by his continuing in that position.
"I told them cricket is not all about seniority, I was man enough to say I was not comfortable," Jan was quoted as saying. "I left that meeting feeling that everything was resolved especially since Daren (Ganga) asked me to move down the order in the morning of the fourth match."
Jan, whose unbeaten 54 in the WICB Limited overs final against Guyana led to T&T's first regional title in eight years, was dropped from the Trinidad and Tobago Carib Beer Cricket Series team for failing to "comply with a directive" to continue as an opening batsman during the preliminaries of the one-day tournament in Guyana.
According to Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (T&TCB) chairman of selectors
Dudnath Ramkessoon, the selectors took the decision to omit Jan after talking to the coach David Williams, manager Omar Khan and captain Daren Ganga on their return home.
"He virtually gave them an ultimatum," Ramkessoon stated. "According to what I understand, he (Jan) said that if has to open, he'd rather not play."
Ramkessoon said, however, that Jan was not dropped immediately because tour management did not want to "disrupt the chemistry of the team".
