Chanderpaul

Bridgetown: Only captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul, fast bowler Daren Powell, and rookie wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin signed up this week for the West Indies tour of Sri Lanka.

The trio were the only invited players of 13 to return a contract by Tuesday’s deadline, putting next month’s tour in jeopardy.

Brian Lara, Chris Gayle, and former vice captain Ramnaresh Sarwan were among those who did not sign in an ongoing dispute over endorsement contracts with the West Indies Cricket Board.

The board met on Thursday to decide its next steps, but wouldn’t reveal any decisions.

One option is to use the three signed players plus a West Indies a team already in Sri Lanka to meet obligations for a tour. The West Indies is scheduled to play two Tests against Sri Lanka and compete in a limited overs tri-series with the host and India.

The dispute between the board and players has been simmering for months, since the board signed a multimillion dollar contract to be sponsored by the Digicel, while seven players had personal contracts with rival telecommunications provider Cable & Wireless, the previous sponsor of West Indies cricket.

The disagreement jeopardised West Indies’ tour of Australia in January, and caused a below-strength team to be fielded for the first Test against South Africa in March. (AP)