Former West Indies player and president of the West Indies Players Association (WIPA), Dinanath Ramnarine, has been named the new chairman of the Sport Company of T&T (SPORTT), an implementation arm of the Ministry of Sports.
Guardian Media Sports was reliably informed that the outspoken Ramnarine received the news yesterday from the Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs which is responsible for SPORTT.
When contacted Ramnarine refused to comment on the issue.
On Monday former cyclist Michael Phillips resigned from the post saying it was for personal reasons.
On Tuesday, Minister of Sport Darryl Smith and SporTT Chief Executive Officer Adam Montserin confirmed Phillips’ departure from the organisation and said his resignation was based on personal reasons.
At the time of his resignation Phillips was organising the official opening of the Brian Lara Stadium in Tarouba, which is set for May 13 with a Twenty20 (T20) match featuring A Brian Lara XI against a Scahin Tendulkar team.
However, on the same day of Phillips’ resignation Guardian Media Sports also reported that Tendulkar will not be among the venue opening celebrations.
With eight days to go before the opening the Sports Ministry has moved to get the planning of the event back on track.
Ramnarine was a leg-spin bowler who retired at an early age (28 years). He has a Test bowling average of around 30, taking 45 wickets in his 12 Test matches, which is better when compared to most who would have played the same amount of matches. After his premature retirement, he went on to successfully lead WIPA with tremendous passion and gain the respect of all by winning 15 out of 15 arbitration matters against the WICB.
Among his other major accomplishments was the signing of the first Collective Agreement between WIPA and WICB, starting the Annual Player Awards Function and establishing a development programme known as the “WIPA in the Community” where as much 10,000 kids to date have participated using cricket to teach valuable life skills.
He further established a personal development programme for which 150 first class players benefited. Ramnarine will be forever known as the “players’ champion” and a no-nonsense man, who stands for integrity and good governance in sports.