NEW DELHI: West Indies cricket was plunged into a major crisis on Tuesday after India, the world’s richest board, suspended all future tours with them following the Caribbean team’s abrupt withdrawal from a series in India last week.

The mighty Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) also decided to take legal action against the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) after the tourists abandoned the series on Friday over a protracted payment dispute between the players and their board.

They still had a one-dayer, a Twenty20 International and three Test matches left to play.

“BCCI will initiate legal proceedings against West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) due to the abrupt cancellation of this tour,” BCCI secretary Sanjay Patel said in a statement.

“All bilateral tours between BCCI and WICB stand suspended,” he added after the board’s working committee meeting in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

To fill the void, the BCCI swiftly arranged a five-match one-day series with Sri Lanka next month but was not ready to take the estimated $65 million loss lying down even though WICB apologised for the team’s sudden withdrawal.

“The members appreciated the gesture of Sri Lankan Cricket for having accepted our request...at such a short notice,” Patel said.

For the sponsorship and TV revenue it generates, a series against India represents a jackpot for financially weaker boards like the WICB and India were expected to make four trips to the West Indies in the next eight years.

“We have suffered huge losses and the ICC is our parent body and we are going to ask them to ensure that this never happens in the future,” Patel had said, adding India was set to scrap the tour of West Indies for three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 match early in 2016.

“Whatever the dispute, they should have honoured the bilateral agreement,” Patel said.

Published in Dawn, October 22nd, 2014