Zimbabwe’s senior cricket players are boycotting the national team while their chief administrators are being investigated by the government-appointed Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC).
Monday’s announcement by Zimbabwe fast-bowler Blessing Mahwire and players’ representative Clive Field came two days before the national selectors were to meet to select a squad to travel to Bangladesh in January for the Asian Cup.
Mahwire and Field said the senior players are not available for selection at least until the SRC completes its investigation, which could take weeks. However, they are free to play for their clubs.
Under-fire Zimbabwe Cricket chairperson Peter Chingoka, scheduled to meet the three-member SRC committee on Monday in a Harare hotel for 45 minutes, spent three hours under questioning.
Tatenda Taibu, who resigned as national captain last week, was kept waiting as the next witness, and had to make another appointment for Tuesday.
Chingoka has faced a torrid time during the past three weeks: he was handed a letter from all provincial chairpersons demanding his resignation; he was informed by Taibu that he was quitting the captaincy; he lost a High Court decision over trying to remove coach Phil Simmons; and he was called into the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe to be questioned by officials about foreign-currency dealings. — Sapa-AP