PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad, CMC – Trinidad and Tobago’s Sports Minister Anil Roberts has called on the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) to explain why it snubbed wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin for a central retainer contract, contending the move could be a major blow to the player’s confidence.
Roberts said he had already written to the T&T Cricket Board five days ago asking it to find out from the WICB the reason why the 25-year-old gloveman had been dumped.
Ramdin was one of six players not retained by the WICB for central contracts, with Jerome Taylor, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Travis Dowlin, Dave Bernard and Narsingh Deonarine also axed from the 15-man list.
“We are playing with people’s careers here and I am saying that every week go by this thing is getting more and more baffling,” Roberts said.
“We need some answers and I have gone through the right channels to get an answer, to see what we can do to assist the boys.
“Being a coach, I can tell you that this action can only lead to destroying a player’s confidence. I read where they said that they are hoping the players get motivation from this and fight to get back on retainer. “This is absolute stupidness. How can you take away confidence and hope to inspire motivation.”
Ramdin has struggled in recent times with the bat, averaging a measly 15 from his last 11 Test innings and also gathering a mere 159 runs from a similar number of innings in One-Day Internationals.
In its rationale for overlooking Ramdin, the WICB said the selection committee had considered the Trinidadian’s recent performances “less than favourable”.
The board was careful to stress, however, that holding a central retainer contract was not a prerequisite for selection to the West Indies side.
But Roberts said the WICB had handled the Ramdin issue badly, noting that earlier attempts should have been made to remedy the player’s game.
“Obviously Ramdin’s problem is his batting because he is the best gloveman in the Caribbean,” the government minister said.
“If this is his problem, what did the WICB do in terms of extra coaching to have him rectify his problems? They wait until the man reaches a certain point and then discard him from their retainer list.
“Also, I would like to know who they are comparing in the region to Ramdin right now. Are they going to compare those regional first class wicketkeepers to Ramdin, when he has been battling with the likes of Brett Lee and Muttiah Muralitharan on the world scene.”
Ramdin currently averages 22 from 42 Tests and 19 from 81 ODIs.
