Johannesburg: Former West Indies skipper Sir Vivian Richards has supported the Caribbean players who are locked in pay cut dispute with the country’s board ahead of the World T20 to be played in India.
West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) had earlier asked the players to agree to the financial terms if they want to represent the country in the upcoming World T20.
The board added that if the players declined to agree the contract, they would have no other option but to substitute the player with another.
Suggesting a solution for the issue, the 63-year-old insisted that the players should be provided with the contract much more in advance rather than asking them to sign it immediately, Sport24 reported.
He added the board gives the contract too late which makes it difficult for the players to digest.
Richards, who believes that the country would suffer significant loss if the second string would be send to the prestigious tournament, further hoped to have this issue resolve as soon as possible.
Earlier, West Indies T20 skipper Darren Sammy requested for urgent meeting by the board before the deadline which is on Sunday.
He had hit back at the board, saying that the contract was completely unacceptable and that the players would participate in World T20 as per the previous conditions.
Sammy had also revealed that the players were facing a pay cut of nearly 80 percent, adding that they had managed to earn only 21,000 dollars apiece this year as compared to 1,35,000 dollars last year.
In another dispute over money between the players and the WICB, the national team had abandoned their tour of India in 2014.
The ICC World T20 is slated to be held in India between March 11 to April 3.(ANI)