Lara misses IPL deadline

Former T&T and West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara missed the May 31 deadline to apply for amnesty from the Indian Premier League. And as such he was not considered to be a part of the official contingent of the T&T team, which will take part in the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League in India in October. This was revealed by a high-ranking official close to the T&T Cricket Board. It was stated that Lara could have been considered to be part of the touring party in either two categories—players/technical staff or as an official.

“The IPL is an arm of the Indian Cricket Board. They have no jurisdiction to say who to bring as an official or not. If Brian (Lara) goes as official, his function will be limited, that is to say he will hardly have any interactions with the players, because he will not be a member of the back-room or coaching staff. It is a very sensitive situation. It is hoped that in the near future that consideration will be give by the authorities to have any issues with Lara be settled,” the official explained. Lara once participated in the rebel Indian Cricket League and it was advised that players who still have ties with the ICL will be barred from taking part in the Twenty20 Championship in any capacity.

Meanwhile, Chief Selector Narine Bidhesi said that training was going along full speed ahead in preparation for the two-week series.
“The guys have been training hard. We are actually in our second phase of our training programme, since we have reduced the squad to a provisional 20. The training has been intensified with the return of all players (West Indies players), the gelling has been extremely good and they (WI players) are lending their experience and support to the younger players,” said the former T&T middle-order batsman.
Bidhesi said training will continue on Monday at the National Cricket Centre at Balmain, Couva.

T&T Provisional Squad:
Daren Ganga (captain), Lendl Simmons, William Perkins, Imran Khan, Richard Kelly, Kevon Cooper, Darren Bravo, Denesh Ramdin, Adrian Barath, Navin Stewart, Dwayne Bravo, Daron Cruikshank, Kieron Pollard, Sherwin Ganga, Amit Jaggernauth, Samuel Badree, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine, Rayad Emrit, Dave Mohammed.

Naz Yacoob
Trinidad Guardian