Janmohamed faces full in-tray as she stays on at Cricket Kenya
Jackie Zehra Janmohamed is back at Cricket Kenya as chair. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
Janmohamed was elected in 2012 and in the process made World History by becoming the first woman to ever head a country’s Cricket Board.
Confusion continues to reign at the Cricket Kenya with chairperson Jackie Zehra Janmohamed said to have rescinded her decision to quit after being prevailed upon by the board.
A full council meeting of the Cricket Kenya (CK) Board held in Mombasa, convinced Janmohamed to remain in charge as the CK boss. Two weeks ago, executive members, led by vice chairman Anil Patel responded to reports that Janmohammed was quitting.
“CK wishes to state its stand on the reports circulating that the chairperson Janmohamed had resigned from her position,” Patel said in a letter to the media. “With the general feeling that these reasons were not insurmountable we requested her to consider rescinding her decision,” the letter said.
Still serving
In July, she had tendered her resignation “due to personal reasons.” However, after the Mombasa meeting she agreed to continue serving. Now it remains to be seen if she will steer the sport back to the top.
Janmohamed was elected in 2012 and in the process made World History by becoming the first woman to ever head a country’s Cricket Board.
However, she has not found it easy at the CK helm, especially after Kenya failed to qualify for the 2015 World Cup to be held in Australia and New Zealand. The worst was to come when Kenya lost the ODI status that was accorded the country in 1997.
Janmohamed was recently in the news for sacking Cricket Kenya CEO Olivier Kobus after claiming that the South African had after all been working in Kenya illegally for the last seven months as he did not have a work permit.
She is also said to have been disappointed by some members of her board is yet to agree on players’ contracts. So far there are only eight players who have been getting monthly extensions of their contracts.
Next year, Kenya will take part in a crucial qualifier for the 2017/2018 ICC Intercontinental Cup that will also feature the Netherlands and Namibia. Failing to qualify will spell doom for Kenyan cricket as it will move from ICC World Cricket League Division One to Two. The winner of the ICC intercontinental will play a Test match.
Now that she is back, she will have to sort the issue of the vacant CEO’s office to prepare a team for the East Africa League season which is fast approaching and address the money issues as the board is in financial doldrums after the cut in funding from the ICC.
World Cup semis
As a qualified cricket umpire, Janmohamed oversaw the rise of the game from the time Kenya made its debut in the World Cup arena during the 1996 ICC World Cup and later made history by becoming the first non-Test country to reach World Cup semi-finals during the 2003 event in South Africa.
Her election as the first woman to head a country board was hailed by the Dubai-based International Cricket Council, which pointed out that the only other top serving woman in the cricket circles is Australian Jacquie Hey, who is a director on the Board of Cricket Australia.
