The Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) has been put on the defensive over the selection of the national team to the under-19 world cup qualifying tournament in Namibia in October.
The fact that the 14-man squad, which was announced just over a week ago, has only one black African player has raised a storm of protest. Many cricket followers argue that the team is not representative of the multiracial nature of Kenyan society.
Timothy Muange, a budding wicket-keeper/batsman who turns out for Swamibapa in the Nairobi Province Cricket Association league alongside Kenya captain Steve Tikolo, is the only indigenous Kenyan in the team.
All the rest are of Indian origin and, even more controversially, three of the 13 players are Indian citizens. KCA chairman Jimmy Rayani has justified their inclusion, saying it is within the International Cricket Council (ICC) player eligibility rules.
These state a player who has resided in an ICC associate member country for at least 183 days of each of the seven years preceding his/her application to play for that country, is classified as a national of the country and therefore eligible to play for it.
A former cricket writer, Zoeb Tayebjee, has criticised the selection, saying it is unacceptable for non-Kenyans to be included in the team. ‘Kenyan caps should be worn by Kenyans. What is the use of having foreigners in the team when we are trying to get Test status? Who knows where they will be tomorrow? The message we are sending to other cricket-playing nations is that we don’t have enough players to make up a truly Kenyan team,†he says.
Rayani said the criterion of the selection was merit and it was made by independent selectors. ‘We do not want to be disadvantaged against other teams at international level, and that is why it is our desire that we send our strongest team possible for the tournament,†he said.
Rayani’s sentiments were echoed by the convenor of the side, Shahid Bwibo, who said indigenous Kenyan boys were not playing enough cricket to make the team.