Kuwait: Breakaway group forms seeking greater Kuwaiti control

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.