ICC Suspends Zimbabwe Over Govt Interference

Zimbabwe were suspended from the International Cricket Council (ICC), with the world governing body saying the country’s cricket administration was not free from government interference.

The ICC Board unanimously decided on Thursday to freeze funding to the national governing body Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) and ban the southern African country’s teams from international events, news agency Reuters reported.

This will make Zimbabwe’s participation in the Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in August and Men’s T20 World Cup Qualifier in October highly unlikely.

Zimbabwe’s Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) suspended ZC last month, putting the national cricket board on a collision course with the ICC.

“What has happened in Zimbabwe is a serious breach of the ICC Constitution and we cannot allow it to continue unchecked,” ICC chairman Shashank Manohar said in a statement. “We do not take the decision to suspend a Member lightly, but we must keep our sport free from political interference.”

Zimbabwe failed to qualify for the recent 50-overs World Cup, having struggled to schedule matches against the major teams in international cricket as their financial position worsened.