BASSETERRE, St. Kitts - NEVISIAN batsman Kieran Powell is one of 14 West Indian players to have signed central contracts with the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) for the next 12 months.
Powell, who last week made his International Twenty20 debut, has played 20 Test matches scoring three centuries at an average of 28.21 runs per innings.
West Indies veterans Chris Gayle and Dwayne Bravo have also signed central contracts with the WICB after three years of independence, but Kieron Pollard has rejected the offer.
In 2011, the three players had refused to sign central contracts because they would have had to make themselves available to the WICB at all times, thus restricting them from playing T20 leagues around the world.
But it seems as though some concessions have been made about the IPL and both Gayle, who is currently injured, and Bravo have decided to throw their lot in with the WICB. However, the reasons for Pollard’s refusal are unknown.
Commenting on Gayle and Bravo’s decision, Chief Executive Officer of the WICB Michael Muirhead told the Trinidad Express that he believes it was a commitment to West Indies cricket.
"They were advised that they were being awarded contracts and they accepted, so it augurs well for West Indies cricket and we really did not have to go into negotiations or anything.
"The fact they are presenting themselves, making themselves available at the expense of the other leagues speaks for itself. I am happy about that."
Asked if the new deal would affect the players’ freedom in terms of T20 leagues, Muirhead said they were working on a plan to make sure that even contracted players could have some leeway.
He added: "For West Indies cricket to thrive and to grow they have to make themselves available. At the same time, we don't want to limit the amount or prevent their opportunities to earn."
The following are the players who were awarded with contracts.
Grade A - Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle, Sunil Narine, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels.
Grade B - Kemar Roach.
Grade C - Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Kirk Edwards, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Shane Shillingford.
Meanwhile, Gayle, Bravo and Pollard have all been included in the West Indies provisional 30-man squad for the World Twenty20, which starts in March, but the defending champions have named only two uncapped players in all-rounder Kevon Cooper and left-arm placeman Delorn Johnson.
The Windies have a packed all-rounder squad, with Bravo and Cooper being included alongside Darren Sammy, Andre Russell, Dwayne Smith and Marlon Samuels.
However, taking into consideration the recent humiliating defeats the West Indies had suffered, it is left to be seen how the World T20 champions will defend their title after being drawn against Australia, Pakistan and India, who they face in their opening match on March 23.
