Kuwait: Breakaway group forms seeking greater Kuwaiti control
15 July 2001
The administration of cricket in Kuwait has splintered into two opposing
groups based primarily on racial lines.
A faction led by Taher Bastaki, captain of the Kuwaiti national team at last
November's ACC Trophy in Dubai, has split from the ICC Affiliated Kuwait Cricket Association, disillusioned by what it sees as expatriate control of
the game in the Emirate.
The KCA has an administration occupied mainly by expatriate Indians and
Pakistanis, although Sheikh Dari Al Sabah, a member of the Kuwaiti Royal
Family, is its Chairman.
It is understood that one of the main aims of Taher Bastaki's Kuwait Cricket
Board, is to increase the number of Kuwaitis in the national team.
The KCB held what was believed to be a well attended forum recently with
supporters speaking in favour of greater Kuwaiti control. While the KCB
emphasised a Kuwaiti approach to the game's adminsitration, it told the
gathering it wanting to be inclusive, not alienating expatriate involvement.
The division emerged during the national team's ACC Trophy campaign, and
resulted in national team players being banned from the Kuwaiti team by the
KCA for three years.
Mediation efforts have been instigated by neutral parties wanting to see the
best result for Kuwaiti cricket, trying to dissolve the bridge mistrust
which apparently exists between the two groups.
© 2001 CricInfo Ltd
