Just a couple of days after ICC suspended Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) for breaching the constitution, it is now confirmed that Zimbabwe won’t fulfill it's Future Tours Programme (FTP) itinerary.
“Zimbabwe will not be able to stage their domestic competitions in the coming season, or fulfil their Future Tours Programme (FTP) itinerary and other international obligations, including the tour to Bangladesh for a T20I tri-series that was to include Afghanistan in September,” a press release by Zimbabwe Cricket stated on Saturday (July 20).
For their part, the Bangladesh Cricket Board has suggested that Zimbabwe's involvement in the tri-series is up to ZC, and they themselves remain fluid in their response to the situation. If Zimbabwe doesn’t participate, the tri-series will turn into a bilateral affair.
Zimbabwe's suspension has also put doubt over both the men and women's teams' participation in the T20 World Cup Qualifier 2019.
"The ICC had also awarded Zimbabwe the right to host another global qualifier event next, but that now hangs in the balance," ZC's statement read.
"In all this, players and staff are bearing the brunt of the standoff and they might be forced to go for months or forever without their salaries and match fees," the statement continued.
The first victim of the ICC’s decision was all-rounder Solomon Mire, who announced his retirement from international cricket on Friday (June 19). Mire’s statement on social media came hours after his team-mate Sikandar Raza expressed fear and insecurity gripping Zimbabwe’s cricketers following the ICC’s decision to withdrawn funding for ZC.
Meanwhile, the Federation of International Cricketers' Associations (FICA) has requested the ICC to consider the impact that Zimbabwe's suspension will have on the players in that country.
"The Zimbabwean players have endured years of hardship under the previous board of ZC," FICA executive chairman Tony Irish quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo. "This has included many instances of non-payment and frequent breaches of their playing contracts. We have asked ICC to consider some mechanism to enable player contracts to be honoured despite the unfortunate suspension of the new board of ZC.
"Some of the domestic players in Zimbabwe live a hand-to-mouth existence, and there is an important 'human' element to this situation which we believe needs to be addressed."
ZC has offered to submit a new financial audit and set aside their differences with the Sports and Recreation Commission, which in June suspended the entire Zimbabwe Cricket Board.
"We would like to see our teams playing again as soon as possible and the ZC board is ready to cooperate with the SRC and other stakeholders to get Zimbabwe back to operating within the confines of the ICC statutes again," ZC's statement read.
(With inputs from ESPNcricinfo)
