Players win Round 1 as CK mulls overhaul of its selection structure

• They demanded the sacking of the board as part of their grievances when they went on strike in June

Nairobi

Cricket Kenya on Tuesday said it planned to overhaul its national selection structure in the wake of the criticism by the players over the handling of selection process by the current panel.

Chief Executive Tom Sears said a new chairman of selectors and two national selectors would be named to handle the selections of Kenya’s senior and junior teams for future local and international tournaments.

Identification programme

“It is evident that we do not have the necessary provisions in place to ensure we have a robust selection and talent identification programme and it is an area we need to address,” he said.

Sears, a former Derbyshire and New Zealand cricket CEO who took over the Kenyan job two months ago, said the new selectors will work alongside the national coach and captain in selecting the national squad and ensure that all the representative teams and all eligible players are monitored.

Relationship strained

The national team players demanded the sacking of the selection board as part of their grievances when they went on strike in June and Sears said the current chairman of selectors, Nasoor Verjee, had indicated he did not wish to continue in that capacity.

Verjee’s relationship with the national players was strained and the players had cited his conduct as one of the reasons they went on strike in June.

At the time, the CK chairman, Samir Inamdar, said Sears was the one charged with the welfare of players, a responsibility that was then also in Verjee’s docket. Besides Verjee, the outgoing selection team also had McDonald Oduor and David Tikolo.

Kenya’s fortunes dipped further last month when the team fared badly against two touring provincial sides from India, namely Gujarat and Baroda.

Kenya’s ‘A’ side also went down to Uganda last month in Kampala.

At the centre of controversy has also been the players’ salaries, which CK has since resolved when players signed one-year contracts two weeks ago.

Sear said it was evident that CK does not have the necessary provisions in place to ensure a robust selection and talent identification programme.

“This is an area we need to address,” Sears said in a press statement.

“We are looking for people with high level cricketing experience who want to play a positive role in the future of Cricket Kenya.”

He said the new selectors will work with national coach Eldine Baptiste and captain Maurice Ouma in selecting the squad but will also be tasked with ensuring all representative teams and all eligible players are monitored.

“We want to make the most of the talent that is available,” said Sears.

The national cricket team is due to play Afghanistan from October 2 to 5 in the Intercontinental Cup Championships, to be followed by three one-day internationals from October 7 to 11.

The team is also preparing for next year’s World Cup where they are up against Pakistan, New Zealand, Canada, Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

The global festival will be co-hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh from February 20 to April 2.

(Reported by AFP, Ayumba Ayodi and Richard Mwangi)