The signing of a contractual agreement in April 2025 between Cricket Kenya (CK) and Dubai-based sports promotion company AOS Sport Tournament for a high-profile Twenty20 League in the country was music to the ears of many cricket lovers, given that the game has deteriorated.
There was a time Kenya went toe to toe with some of the best teams in the world. Kenya has played in five editions of the International Cricket Council (ICC) World Cup from 1996 to 2011. The highlight of Kenya's good run in cricket came in 2003, when the country reached the semi-finals of the ICC World Cup.
After that, things started going south. Kenya, which was granted the prestigious One Day International (ODI) status in 1996, progressively fell down the pecking order. The country lost ODI status in 2014, and has not qualified for a major tournament since then, thanks in a big part to mismanagement of the game and wrangling among officials of Cricket Kenya.
Lack of qualification for major tournaments means that local players have fallen off the radar in the grand scheme of things. Players have largely been inactive with no opportunities to earn a living from the sport as officials fight for control of Cricket Kenya.
Which is why the five-year deal worth Sh255 million was welcome news not only for the exposure that the tournament promised to give local players, but also for the income it was expected to generate for the players. Local fans who have been starved of top cricket were looking forward to action on the grounds.
Some of the world’s finest cricketers were expected to feature for the six franchises. But less than two months to its scheduled start of November 7, the tournament has left the CK board sharply divided, prompting the Ministry of Sports to intervene.
“I met both the sponsor and the CK board (on Friday last week) and we had a lengthy discussion. I had been directed by the Sports CS (Salim Mvurya) to meet them, so I am doing a report for him,” Director of Sports Jaxon Indakwa said on Monday.
Dubbed the CK T20 League, the tournament was launched on August 27 in Nairobi, with several cricket stakeholders in attendance, among them AOS Sport Tournament Chairman Chandra Prakash Panwar, and CK Counties representative Kennedy Obuya, who also serves as the federation’s acting treasurer.
Former Kenya opening batsman and wicket-keeper Kennedy Obuya. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO | FILE
Several former Kenya internationals, among them Maurice Odumbe, Martin Suji and David Obuya, attended the launch.
But five days later on September 1, CK Chief Executive Officer Ronald Bukusi released a statement disowning the tournament's launch on grounds that it had not been approved by the federation.
“Cricket Kenya wishes to categorically clarify that it has neither sanctioned nor approved this alleged tournament, contrary to the misleading representations made to the public by AOS Sports and Mr. Kennedy Obuya,” read part of the statement issued by Bukusi.
“The event falls outside the scope of an agreement made between Cricket Kenya and AOS Sports, which is pending ICC approval and therefore, the public is expressly cautioned against associating or engaging in any way with individuals or entities promoting this non-existent tournament,” it added.
Nation Sport understands that a key sticking point regarding the tournament is the questionable character of some of the individuals behind it. Again, the tournament has yet to be sanctioned by the ICC. This is a key requirement for a tournament that has promised to fly in global stars to Nairobi.
The local cricket fraternity also holds the view that Cricket Kenya chairman Manoj Patel, who was present at the launch of the tournament on August 27, does not have the power to act on behalf of the local federation. On July 11, Cricket Kenya’s board unanimously passed a vote of no confidence on Manoj Patel.
On Tuesday, Kennedy Obuya, who has been at the forefront of organising the tournament, said he could not understand the “genuine reasons” behind the resistance from other CK board members.
He also disowned the statement that was issued by Bukusi, saying it doesn't represent the voice of all CK board members.
"That is the stand of a few board members. It is not the stance of all of us. I am not part of it," he said.
Cricket Kenya Chief Executive Officer Ronald Bukusi.
Photo credit: Chris Omollo | Nation Media Group
Since the International Cricket Council (ICC) has yet to approve the tournament, which would have allowed participating teams to invite players from Test nations, the former Kenya international explained that the sponsor had agreed to downgrade it by restricting the invitation to only players from ICC associate member countries, but under the same contractual agreement signed with CK in April.
According to Kennedy, the version of the tournament they intend to organise does not require ICC’s approval but just the endorsement of the CK board.
“If he (the sponsor) makes it a local tournament, it doesn’t need any approval from ICC. We, the (CK) board members, just need to sit down and agree on the modalities,” he said, adding that the sponsor is keen to have the 21-day tournament start on November 7 since viewership would decline afterwards as other similar competitions will be underway across the globe.
As per the contract, AOS will pump into the league $300,000 (Sh38 million) in the opening 2025 season. The funding will increase by $50,000 each year for the next five years.
This translates to Sh45 million in 2026, Sh51 million in 2027, Sh57 million in 2028 and Sh64 million in 2029, totaling to approximately Sh255 million in the five years. Bukusi explained that downgrading the tournament would mean breaching the terms of the agreement signed with the sponsor, as top players from the Test nations would not feature.
He noted that while they are open to fresh discussions on the matter, the talks have yet to take place due to the recent flare-up.
“The terms presented now are not what we discussed and agreed on. That is the position of the board,” said the CK’s CEO.
“ICC rules are very clear on a domestic tournament, a national tournament or a franchise tournament. That is what we wanted to discuss…Not yet (started discussions), there is a need for a period of cooling down, because everyone was unhappy,” he added.
While Bukusu said that CK is open to welcoming anyone who wants to organise a tournament in Kenya, he cautioned that such individuals must proceed carefully “because we also need to guard our reputation, and build who we are.”
The six franchise teams that were expected to compete in the tournament are Nairobi Challengers, Simba Royals, Mombasa Wildebeests, Kisumu Tuskers, Rhino Hitters, and the Masai Mara Warriors.
During the tournament’s launch, the Kenyan cricket legends were given Sh100,000each. The legends were expected to serve as tournament ambassadors for the CK T20 League.
