Central Sports owner calls for more TTCB support, less 'lip service'

THE owner of 2024 TT Cricket Board (TTCB) National League and Twenty/20 Festival Premiership I champions Central Sports Richard Ramkissoon has berated cricket's local governing body for the dismissal of former treasurer Kiswah Chaitoo, and called on the TTCB to do more for the game's development.

Speaking to Newsday on Sunday after Central Sports' thrilling win in the T20 Festival final against PowerGen Penal on Saturday night, Ramkissoon accused the Azim Bassarath-led TTCB of making enemies with people who disagree or speak out against the running of the administration.

"Nobody must not speak about development or make any comments about anything that is contrary to what the TTCB is perpetrating," a passionate Ramkissoon told Newsday.

"If you do, you are an enemy to them and they want to belittle you and bring you down. Shame on them, but Richard Ramkissoon is not going to stand for that."

In December, Chaitoo revealed approximately $500,000 in TTCB funds had been misused over a five-year period. Chaitoo subsequently reported the matter to the police in an attempt to clear his name. In February, at a TTCB special general meeting, Chaitoo was removed from his post as treasurer following a motion of no confidence by board members.

Ramkissoon was axed from the TTCB premiership committee following a unanimous decision at a national executive meeting on April 13.

An April 15 letter from TTCB general secretary Altaf Baksh read, "There has been public criticism via various forms of media, which has painted the premiership committee and the TTCB in a negative light.

"The TTCB executive therefore takes the opportunity to thank you for your services..."

Ramkissoon said the administrators should do more for the sport than just "lip service" regarding cricket's development.

"You are coming to a symposium to talk about cricket development. Shame on them. What was that executive doing all this time in terms of development?" Ramkissoon asked, while referring to the April 25-26 Caricom Regional Cricket Conference that was held at the Hyatt Regency in PoS.

"Look at that debacle which took place at the TTCB. Improper financial management. Hundreds of thousands of dollars from the coffers have been lost when that could have gone to cricket development," Ramkissoon said.

"And you want to come and defend that. And the man who discovered the fraud, you fired him."

At last month's regional conference, the TTCB came under fire from Windies legend Michael Holding, who described the circumstances at the TTCB as "madness."

At the conference, Bassarath stood firm on the board's decision as he said Chaitoo had breached the constitution and the "board members took action accordingly" through the no-confidence vote.

On Tuesday, Chaitoo's appeal against his February 28 removal was adjourned to allow the board’s attorneys to file further written submissions, in response to Chaitoo’s. The TTCB was given a May 27 deadline to file their submissions.

Boardroom matters aside, Ramkissoon asked for more financial backing from both the TTCB and the Government.

"You cannot disregard and take our clubs for granted. Our clubs need help. We're major stakeholders in TT cricket. We're the ones who are investing millions in TT cricket and West Indies cricket by extension," Ramkissoon said.

"In my opinion, we're not being supported by the government and the TT Cricket Board. I'm calling on the president and the executive of the TTCB to do better for TT cricket and club cricket. We need to support clubs. We need to support development programmes. Otherwise, we cannot go forward."

Similar to Bess Motors Marchin Patriots skipper Adrian Ali, who last week highlighted the lack of uniforms for teams in the T20 Festival, Ramkissoon said the financial injection from sponsors should ideally trickle down to the players.

In February, four-time Caribbean Premier League champions Trinbago Knight Riders were announced as the main sponsor of the T20 Festival. The total sponsorship figure was not disclosed, while the Premiership I's top prize of $80,000 was unchanged.

"Support the development of cricket in a meaningful way. We cannot be earning money and getting sponsors and we're not developing and putting the money – as far as I'm concerned – in the right places.

"Central Sports and I know for a fact, all the other clubs have got nothing in terms of assistance to continue their development and growth. We need that."

Newsday reached out to president Bassarath via WhatsApp to ascertain the sponsorship figure attached to the T20 tournament, as well as the possibility of increased prize money going forward. However, he had not responded to queries up until press time.