ICC suspends Zimbabwe Cricket with immediate effect over 'government interference'
The International Cricket Council has suspended Zimbabwe Cricket with immediate effect following a board and full council meeting at London on Thursday. The decision has been taken after Zimbabwe's breach of Article 2.4 (c) and (d) of the ICC Constitution, which prohibits government interference.
Following several meetings and discussions over the course of the last few months, the ICC has finally taken the decision to suspend Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) with immediate effect, following the ICC Annual Conference at London on Thursday. This decision means that all funding from the ICC to Zimbabwe Cricket will be frozen, and the country is highly unlikely to participate in the Men's and Women's WT20 qualifiers set to kick off in October later this year.
Zimbabwe Cricket have been found guilty of breaching Article 2.4 (c) and (d) of the ICC Constitution, which imposes "an obligation on Members to provide a process for free and democratic elections and to ensure that there is no government interference in its governance and / or administration for cricket respectively."
After having previously issued several warnings about the same matter, the ICC decided to hit the final nail in the coffin on Thursday when all board members unanimously decided to suspend ZC.
“We do not take the decision to suspend a Member lightly, but we must keep our sport free from political interference,” said ICC chairman Shashank Manohar, as quoted by ICC's official website.
“What has happened in Zimbabwe is a serious breach of the ICC Constitution and we cannot allow it to continue unchecked. The ICC wants cricket to continue in Zimbabwe in accordance with the ICC Constitution.” he added.
The suspension has now put the participation of the Zimbabwe National Cricket team in the ICC WT20 Qualifiers under jeopardy, and the chances of Zimbabwe participating in those tournaments, both men and women, are very slim.