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ICC suspending Zimbabwe Cricket Board displays government's unhealthy dominance over public

The situation for the country and the people has deteriorated for over the last few years. The inflation in the country has skyrocketed, the political stability in Zimbabwe has been disrupted and cricket in the country has succumbed to the political war

ICC suspending Zimbabwe Cricket Board displays government's unhealthy dominance over public
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On July 18, Thursday, the International Cricket Council (ICC) suspended the Zimbabwe Cricket Board with immediate effect. The decision was taken by the penultimate cricketing body in the Annual Conference meeting held in London. Accordingly, the suspension will see the ICC's funding to Zimbabwe Cricket frozen and representative teams from Zimbabwe will not be allowed to participate in any ICC events. Along with this, no other international team can play against Zimbabwe.

The International Cricket Council said that they have always worked towards separating cricket and politics and after ZC failed to avoid the government's interference, ICC was left with no choice but suspend it. But the suspension hasn't been just a shock for Zimbabwe Cricket but also comes as an eye-opener for people on how the government can have an unhealthy dominance over people in Zimbabwe.

The situation for the country and the people has deteriorated for over the last few years.  The inflation in the country has skyrocketed, the political stability in Zimbabwe has been disrupted, and cricket in the country has succumbed to the political hysteria.

Last month, the Zimbabwe government had dismissed Zimbabwe Cricket Board with immediate effect and had also removed the board's Acting Managing Director Givemore Makoni. After which, Zimbabwe's Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) put up temporary leadership, putting the national cricket board on a collision course with the ICC.

The government abused its power and removed the Zimbabwe Cricket Board by replacing it with an interim committee consisting of officials from the government.

Owing to the political tension in the country, what was once a great cricketing nation, has now been reduced to a country ridden with political issues and has found itself out of the cricketing fraternity. Players have been on the receiving end due to the debacle and Zimbabwe greats like Andy Flower, Henry Olonga, and Tatenda Taibu have quit the sport due to the ever-rising corruption in the government. The players were even forced to leave the country after they received death threats.

Due to the ongoing civil debacle in the country, thousands of people are unemployed and are left poverty-stricken. For the last 37 years, former President Robert Mugabe had been leading the country and under his reign, the country had suffered a great deal. After which, in 2017, as the international pressure to step down began rising, he suddenly resigned from his post, leaving the country confused and clueless. 

However, the armed forces were against Mugabe and were afraid that he might just pass on his post to his wife. The army was disappointed when Mugabe had removed long-term vice-president, Emmerson Mnangagwa but as soon as Mugabe resigned, the presidential post went to  Mnangagwa.

While Emmerson Mnangagwa promised his countrymen of better days, the situation did not get any better. The opposition parties were disappointed with their leader's governance who used the army's force to curb the dissent and eventually, this led to the country drifting to political instability.

The president then tried to interfere with the management of every institution, both government and private, one of which was Zimbabwe Cricket. While the government was trying to gain complete control, it failed to realise how its dominant behaviour was not only a sign of mistrust and dictatorship but also led to endangering the privacy of it's country's individual.

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