Hinds had been offered a contract by the English county Derbyshire but since he now faces a ban due to the ICL alliance, he may have to forego the contract.

Even though he wasn’t a part of the inaugural edition of the ICL, Hinds has words of praise for the league: “The concept of this league is praiseworthy. By inviting experienced players like us from all over the world, the Indian domestic players will gain in skill.”

A left-handed batsman and useful right-arm medium pace bowler, Hinds made his Test debut against Zimbabwe in 2000 and made vital contributions to the West Indies team. His opening partnership with Chris Gayle yielded 1300 runs in 33 innings while they added 1687 runs in ODI cricket. However Hinds, who was the captain of the Jamaican team, was banned in 2007 on disciplinary grounds.

“I don’t want to comment anything on that anymore,” is all he would say. But speaking on the West Indies selection policy, he felt: “I would just advocate that the selection process is based on objectivity and not on the regional grounds.”

Hinds loves reggae music, which isn’t surprising really. “In the Caribbean music and cricket go hand-in-hand; people are just passionate about two things and they are cricket and music,” he says, adding R & B (Rhythm and Blues), Soul and Bob Marley were his favourites.

And what made him turn to cricket? “My all time hero was Clive Lloyd. He commanded the respect worldwide…what a player he was, he could win matches single-handedly. Whenever he batted it was a treat to watch.”