The International Cricket Council (ICC) — cricket’s world governing body — has lashed out at the behavior of some members of the West Indies team following the final of the Twenty20 World Cup in India in April this year.
The ICC labeled the players’ behavior as “inappropriate and disrespectful” and said it “brought the event into disrepute.”
In a statement following a meeting of its board recently, the ICC even said it had given “serious consideration” to bringing sanctions against the players.
“The board considered the behavior of some of the West Indies players in the immediate aftermath of the final, and unanimously agreed that certain comments and actions were inappropriate, disrespectful and brought the event into disrepute,” the statement said.
“The board acknowledged an apology by the WICB but was disappointed to note that such behavior had detracted from the success of what was otherwise a magnificent tournament and final,” the governing body said.
West Indies beat England by four wickets in a dramatic final in Kolkata to win their second Twenty20 World Cup, following their triumph four years ago in Sri Lanka.
Many of the regional players celebrated wildly afterward, with some removing their shirts as they danced in delight.
West Indies Captain Darren Sammy also stunned many cricket fans by openly criticizing the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) during the official post-game interview and highlighting the players’ ongoing pay dispute, which had marred the build-up to the tournament.
Man-of-the Match Marlon Samuels was also fined for his verbal outburst against bowler Ban Stokes during the final over of the game.
The ICC Chairman Shashank Manohar said the Windies players actions were not “acceptable conduct” for ICC events.
“The sport of cricket is proud of its unique spirit and this involved being gracious in victory as well as defeat and respectful at all times to the game, one’s opponents, the sponsors and the fans,” Manohar said.
He added: “The board also noted that very serious consideration had been given to bringing Code of Conduct charges in respect of the behavior of the West Indies players and emphasized that this was not acceptable conduct at ICC events played out on a world stage in front of millions of people around the globe.
Following Sammy’s interview, WICB President Dave Cameron issued an apology saying that the board deemed to his comments “inappropriate” and promised to investigate the matter.
