Bravo needs to explain what is happening - Samuels

[rkt.india]

Why 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. 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.

http://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/story/793475.html Samuels disputes Bravo version of events

West Indies batsman Marlon Samuels has strongly disagreed with the statement from West Indies ODI captain Dwayne Bravo, who said that the Jamaican had given consent to standing by "any decision taken by the team" including abandoning the tour of India. In an interview with ESPNcricinfo, Samuels pointed out that all three parties - players, WICB and West Indies Players Association - had handled the situation inappropriately but directed scathing criticism at Wavell Hinds, saying that the WIPA president and CEO was the "real reason" the situation became "messed up". "No, I did not say that I am going to stand by any decision," Samuels said in a telephone interview on Monday from Jamaica. "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 [bravo]." This is the second time in less than a week Samuels has expressed a difference of opinion in the public domain against Bravo. In an interview with a radio station last week, Samuels said he spent time "ordering room service" while the rest of the players were attending meetings as he wanted "to finish the tour." Bravo said he was "shocked" at Samuels considering he had participated in the meeting "vigorously" asking questions. However, Samuels clarified that he had asked certain questions of Bravo in the two team meetings he had attended in India and having failed to get a convincing response, he decided to stay away. According to Samuels, he had asked Bravo to come out and explain to the Caribbean public the exact situation because failing to be transparent with them was not right. "One of the questions I asked was the public don't really know what is happening," Samuels said. "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. You cannot expect [me] to go and fight a war if you are not willing to go out and speak." Samuels' reactions are a setback for Bravo who had said in a media statement released last Friday that the decision to leave India after the fourth ODI in Dharamsala was taken with the "full concert" of all the players. Samuels said that he was not surprised at all by Bravo releasing a statement but he agreed, and suggested, that calling him directly to sort things out would have been the best step. "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," Samuels said. He also stressed he was not siding with either WICB or WIPA in the current situation but criticized administrators for failing to be proactive to come up with a solution. "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." "All 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." Incidentally representatives of all three warring factions met in Jamaica on Monday for "cordial and fruitful" discussions as described in a joint statement issued at the conclusion of the meeting. Cameron and Hinds were present at the meeting which also was attended by players representatives Andre Russell and Jason Holder, along with legal counsel. Though Samuels said the blame for the tour abandonment should be spread among all the parties involved, he feels Hinds is most at fault. "If you look at the situation, the real, real person here to be blamed is WIPA. Wavell Hinds, the president, that basically messed up everything. If you look at the situation you can't really blame [the WICB] for accepting what Wavell has done. Wavell is the main problem here. The players are upset with what Wavell has done. But remember I am not part of WIPA." Asked why he was not accredited to the players' body, Samuels revealed the only reason was the way WIPA left him out "in the cold" when he was serving at two-year ban for having links with an Indian bookmaker. "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."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/westindies/content/story/793499.html