Marlon Samuels talks about his disagreement with Dwayne Bravo over West Indies’ pullout from their India tour and holds WIPA president Wavell Hinds responsible for the payment dispute with the board
Nagraj Gollapudi27-Oct-2014Why are you not part of the West Indies Players’ Association?
Why I am not part of WIPA? My reason is I was a part of WIPA. Since I got the two-year ban I was left in the cold, on my own. I have to get my own lawyer. I have to do everything on my own. WIPA wasn’t there for me. So I come back into cricket and choose not to be a part of WIPA because WIPA did not help me. So I do not feel like I should do anything for WIPA.So you don’t mind being on your own, fighting your own battle while Dwayne Bravo and others battle as one unit against the WIPA?
If you look at the situation, the real, real person here to be blamed is WIPA. Wavell Hinds, the (WIPA) president, basically messed up everything. If you look at the situation you can’t really blame the board for accepting what Wavell has done. Wavell is the main problem here. But remember I am not part of WIPA.How many players’ meetings did you attend in India?
I went to a couple of meetings.How do you react to Bravo’s letter in response to your making your feelings public in an interview last week?
Nothing in this lifetime surprise me when it comes down to mankind. Expect the unexpected.What were the main questions you raised with Bravo?
One of the questions I asked was the public don’t really know what is happening. The public are being misled. They need to know the truth behind this (pullout). They need to go out there and explain what is really happening. He wasn’t willing to go and do that. That is why I say that if you are not up to doing what I want to go there and do, which is the right thing, then you are not going to get my full support. Otherwise everything is going to continue to go back and forth, back and forth and there is going to be a lot of discussions and nobody really knows what’s really going on.If he knows what is really going on go out there and speak. He came back to the Caribbean and until now he hasn’t spoken. All he is doing is sending letters to this place. If he had gone and listened to my interview he wouldn’t have sent a letter. My interview is saying that situation is handled badly. Wavell is wrong.The (WICB) president (Dave Cameron) should have taken a flight down to India and come and have a talk. To sit in the Caribbean and not come and speak to the players cannot be the right way to deal with things. So right across the board it is wrong.All these youngsters don’t know where their future lies. They have to be getting lawyers and that is a serious matter. You need to reach out to those youngsters because these youngsters in the team do not know where their future lies. And that is more important than sending a letter to my interview. My interview was straightforward.
“This has nothing to do with India. This is our problem. So finish the tour and then go back to the Caribbean and sort out the problem. India is the most important team that West Indies play against. India is the greatest team that West Indies play against in every way possible. The relationship with India is too great. It is a wonderful relationship. You would never see an Indian player and a West Indian player having words against each other or cursing the other. It is not like against Australia or South Africa. There are a lot of Indians in the Caribbean. It is like a family.”
Reacting to the interview you gave to a radio station last week, Bravo said that you contributed “vigorously” to the players meetings and said you would stand by any decisions made. Do you agree?
No. I did not say that I am going to stand by any decision. Because nobody asked me questions like that. It is up to the individual to say okay I am with you. You had people in the room that didn’t even open their mouth or say anything. At the end of the day I went there and asked my questions and I wasn’t satisfied (by the response). If I was satisfied then I will be the first person to come out because I am an outspoken person. Then I will be the first person to come out and defend everything with him.Would it be better if Bravo had called you directly to sort out the difference in opinion?
That is the thing to do if he wants to be in this position because this is a very serious matter. He didn’t even listen to my interview because in his letter he is not even sure of what I did. What he should have done, if you are a true leader, is to go out and call the player and ask him did you say things like this?I am not basically swinging with nobody in this matter. If you cannot go out and talk it as it is then I am not up to it.Have you spoken to any regional players and how do they look at this situation?
I am in Jamaica and saw Jason Holder yesterday (Sunday). We have a long discussion. My words to him was his future is bright. This should not affect him… whenever he goes back to Barbados and focus and put in some hard work. He didn’t get the opportunity that he wanted on the tour. The first game he get on the tour he was trying to do well. So he was putting in too much effort basically. So he wasn’t getting it right and going for lot of runs. So I tell him next time in a situation like that do not pressure on yourself. Whenever you get the opportunity just go out there and try to be relaxed. You need to perform but without adding pressure on yourself. So we had a long conversation. These guys listen to what I have to say.That is why I said, I was in that room. And I go and ask my questions. And I am not satisfied with the answers I get. And so you cannot expect to go and fight a war if you are not willing to go out and speak.Do you think this situation can be resolved?
It has to be resolved because the most important thing is cricket. All I am saying is that we are already there in India. Right. Finish the tour. This has nothing to do with India. This is our problem. So finish the tour and then go back to the Caribbean and sort out the problem. India is the most important team that West Indies play against. India is the greatest team that West Indies play against in every way possible. The relationship with India is too great. It is a wonderful relationship. You would never see an Indian player and a West Indian player having words against each other or cursing the other. It is not like against Australia or South Africa. There are a lot of Indians in the Caribbean. It is like a family.So you reckon West Indies will tour South Africa and play the World Cup, the immediate assignments in the near future?
It has to be open. The matter needs to be resolved as soon as possible because as I said the most important thing is cricket. Remember for the young players this is their job. So administrators need to do something very fast so we can get back and try to put the best team possible back on the park. That is the main thing because West Indies cricket is falling behind. We cannot afford this situation to destroy everyone for much longer. So the sooner we can deal with this situation and the faster we can get back into the groove and start focusing on cricket again that would be the best thing for West Indian people.Would you like to be part of the WIPA?
I am willing and ready to be part of WIPA but a lot of changes need to be made.