Cricket icon Karim tips Kenya to qualify for T20 World Cup
Kenya cricket and tennis legend Aasif Karim speaks during an interview on November 6, 2023 at Aristocrats office in Lavington, Nairobi
What you need to know:
- Reckoning that it will be an uphill task for coach Lameck Onyango’s boys to clinch one of the two slots to the World Cup, owing to how Kenya’s cricket has fallen, Karim, 59, said that unity can “create wonders” for the national team in the competition.
- “It is going to be difficult,” said Karim at his Aristocrats office in Lavington, Nairobi on Monday.
Kenya cricket and tennis legend Aasif Karim believes that through unity and good preparations, the national men’s cricket team can qualify for the 2024 International Cricket Council (ICC) Men’s T20 World Cup.
The global championship has tentatively been planned for June 4 to 30 in the United States of America and West Indies.
The final round of African qualifiers has been set for November 22 to 30 in Namibia and will feature Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, Uganda, Zimbabwe and the hosts. The two top teams in the event will progress to the upcoming World Cup.
Reckoning that it will be an uphill task for coach Lameck Onyango’s boys to clinch one of the two slots to the World Cup, owing to how Kenya’s cricket has fallen, Karim, 59, said that unity can “create wonders” for the national team in the competition.
“It is going to be difficult,” said Karim at his Aristocrats office in Lavington, Nairobi on Monday.
“You may be weak players but if you are united, you can create wonders. The coach’s job is to bring people together, motivate them and make them believe in themselves,” he added.
Karim played for Kenya cricket and tennis teams for a massive 23 years. He represented Kenya in three cricket World Cups; 1996, 1999 (captain) and 2003 and participated in the 1988 Davis Cup. He is the father of Irfan Karim who is also part of the current national team and a former captain.
He said that Onyango can also boost the team’s preparation for the qualifiers by inviting some of Kenya’s past top cricket players to motivate the boys and share some winning tips with them.
According to the latest ICC rankings, Zimbabwe is the top team heading into the tournament at position 11. Namibia, Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria and Rwanda follow in that order at position 12, 23, 30, 32, 38 and 62 respectively.
Ex-international Onyango was appointed coach on an interim basis in early August. He is assisted by another former international, Joseph Angara. The team was previously handled by David Obuya.
Evergreen all-rounder Collins Obuya is among the players Onyango will be depending on to guide Kenya to the World Cup.
The 42-year-old is ruthless with the bat and Karim heaped praise on him saying: "He has played at the highest level therefore he knows what needs to be done at that level including guiding the youngsters.”
Last month, Onyango told Nation Sport that his boys can qualify for the World Cup if they produce their A game in all matches in Namibia.
“In the game of cricket, it is whoever plays well on that day who will carry the day, so the only thing we need to do is to work hard and make the players believe that they are better than so many others,” he said.
Cricket Kenya Chief Executive Officer Ronald Bukusi said they were unable to take the team to Zimbabwe for a high performance training due to lack of funds.
