UAE: UAE Board Bans Skipper Sultan Zarawani For Life (28 Jun 1996)

28 June 1996

UAE board bans skipper Sultan Zarawani for life

By Sonny Abraham

The Emirates Cricket Board (ECB) has decided to ban Sultan Zarawani, who led the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the Wills World Cup, from playing for the country again on disciplinary grounds.

The decision not to consider Zarawani for further selection was taken by the five-member selection committee and endorsed by the ECB.

Zarawani, 33, the first Arab to play international cricket, confirmed that such a decision had been taken. He added that he had learnt of the decision from a media report. "They were man enough to take the decision, but not man enough to inform me," he said.

Reports indicate that the ECB was angered by media interviews given by Zarawani critcising its officials for their lack of cricketing experience and knowledge.

Zarawani said he had sought a meeting with ECB officials to present his side of the story after he had learnt of an adverse report submitted by team manager and chief selector Abdul Razzque Kazim about the team`s performance in the World Cup.

He said he was given a hearing, and that he used the opportunity to tell the board about what he felt was wrong with the manner in which cricket was being managed in the country. Zarawani said he was told by the board that they would get back to him in a few days.

"I was completely nonplussed when I read in the newspaper that I won`t be considered for future selection," Zarawani told the Dubai-based Khaleej Times.

Media critics here have termed as harsh the decision to ban for life the man who was not only instrumental in getting the UAE an entry for the International Cricket Council trophy tournament held in Kenya in February, 1994, but who also led the country to a win in that tournament.

It was this win that qualified the Emirates side for the 1996 World Cup, where again the side under Zarawani managed a win over the Netherlands.

"At least they should have had the decency to inform me in writing or verbally about their action, but they didn`t. Is that the way you treat the captain of a national team?" Zarawani asked.

He told the Khaleej Times that he had been offered an administrative assigment by the ECB, which he had declined saying that he wanted to continue playing for another two or three years.

Zarawani was involved in an embarassing situation during the Interface Cup match between the Emirates and India `A` at Sharjah last year.

He had been dropped from the side, but still went out for the toss with the Indian skipper. ECB officials had to persuade him to return to the pavilion.

"I was not officially informed by manager Kazim that I was dropped for the match," he explained later.

Zarawani said the team had been losing matches after the ICC trophy tournament because of a sense of insecurity among the players. "Even during the World Cup in Pakistan, there were no proper arrangments for team nets and such," he alleged.

Zarwani was all praise for former Indian Test star Madan Lal, who had coached and prepared the Emirates team for the ICC trophy. "Why didn`t they hire Madan Lal for the World Cup? It`s another case which exposes the ill-conceived policies of the board," Zarawani said. "Indian board president Inderjit Singh Bindra had almost agreed to release Madan Lal for our World Cup campaign."

Zarawani also felt the ECB had erred in dropping former Maharashtra Ranji Trophy player Riaz Poonawala from the Emirates team. "He was dropped just because of a lean patch. We should not have forgotten his role in the ICC trophy where he hammered all the teams," Zarawani said.

Zarawani said the Emirates team had acquitted itself well in the World Cup. "But the ECB, till today, has not held any function to felicitate the players," he said.

The Emirates team for the ICC trophy and the World Cup was made up mainly of expatriates from India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. Apart from Zarawani, only one other UAE national figured in the side chosen for the World Cup.

The controversy about his exclusion comes at a time when the ECB is preparing to raise a side for the Asian Cricket Council and ICC tournaments. The new ICC rules require a team to have a minimum of seven nationals, a condition that the UAE will find difficult to fulfill for they just do not have that number of international class players of native origin.

Source :: Rediff On The NeT (http.//www.rediff.co.in)