Pollard, Bravo and Narine might play for T&T
The upcoming Champions League T20 is veering towards an off-field battle between the Indian franchises and Trinidad & Tobago, if sources are to be believed. A Caribbean newspaper had indicated last week that the trio, Dwayne Bravo, Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine wished to play for their home team, Trinidad & Tobago.It also claimed that the trio were expected to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Ministry of Sport, Trinidad & Tobago.
However, Anil Roberts, Minister of Sport, Trinidad & Tobago has confirmed through his permanent secretary, Ashwin Creed that negotiations are still underway and a final decision is yet to be made.
"The minister told me that the parties are still in the negotiation process. There is still sometime to go before they can come to the stage of signing a MOU, stage", said Creed.
He said that the minister is currently attending the Olympics in London and a decision will be made once he returns.
"There is still a lot of time left for the negotiations since the tournament is in October. The minister is expected to be back on August 13 and the negotiations will continue", said the Permanent Secretary.
On the other hand, Joy Bhattacharjya, team director of KKR has tweeted that he was informed by the CEO of KKR, Venky Mysore that Sunil Narine will play for KKR in the upcoming tournament.
Sunil Narine was picked up by the Knight Riders during the 2011 auctions for $700,000 and played a major role in helping KKR win its maiden IPL trophy.
Roberts had earlier mentioned that he wished that the trio would pick country over club in the cash rich tournament and that his government would do all that was possible in that regard.
"All three players have said they want to play for Trinidad & Tobago. The government of Trinidad & Tobago have said they will match their fees, so that they will not lose anything."
"We want the best team. Some of the Indian teams, the owners are obviously a bit upset because they would love to have Sunil Narine, Pollard and Bravo but I told them quite upfront that we are being professional, that we are not holding anything in secret. We are not going to wait until the last minute and then steal the players from under them."
Roberts said that he understood the position of the IPL franchises, but he was firm on his decision. "I also explained to them, because some of them are quite upset ... I said, 'please for a moment, just picture Mahendra Singh Dhoni or Sachin Tendulkar or [Suresh] Raina deciding or contemplating to play for a club ahead of India. I don't think that would even be a choice. I don't think they would even be able to set foot in their land of their birth if ever they even consider disappointing their countrymen and their country by playing for club for money."
"So while they may be upset, I tell them I am very sorry they are upset, but the [T&T] population wants our best players, the government wants our best players. The players want to play for Trinidad & Tobago and they will play for Trinidad & Tobago."
T&T qualified for the tournament as the T20 champions from the Caribbean Islands. The will however have to play the qualifiers to make an entry into the main tournament. It was the same in the previous season as well as T&T made it to the main round but failed narrowly to make it to the semi-finals.
Dwayne Bravo and Kieron Pollard represented their IPL teams, Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians respectively. T&T were financially compensated for the loss of their key players.
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