Omar Khan

A regional cricket official has slammed the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) over their treatment of former manager of the West Indies team, T&T’s Omar Khan. The current WICB official, who spoke to the Guardian on the condition of anonymity, said Khan was given a five-year contract two years ago to manage teams put out by the WICB. He started by being manager of the West Indies senior team. These days he is being used as manager of the West Indies Under-19 team, while the WICB tries out different options with the senior team. According to the official: “Omar Khan is the best manager we have had in recent times and many of the players have indicated this. They are comfortable working with him and he has a very good rapport with them.

“Yet the WICB in their wisdom sees it fit to use former Test spinner Lance Gibbs as manager for the tour to South Africa. Then, suddenly they have decided to do away with Gibbs and appoint Joel Garner as the manager for the tour to Australia. “These guys clearly have no idea of what is needed for a professional sports team. Khan has been given a lot of credit with initially moulding a winning T&T team, that is the talk of the town today. “That team has shown the benefits of teamwork and togetherness and from reports, it was Khan who started the mental work with these guys. After T&T finished second in the Airtel Champions league in India, some of the players were still singing praises to Khan.” “Even if the WICB wanted him working with the young players going to New Zealand for the Under-19 World Cup, they should have at least kept Gibbs on for a while.

“A manager needs time with the players so that trust could be built in both directions. No one can change a team overnight, so work has to be done on a consistent and sustained basis. By chopping and changing the manager the players are uneasy because they have to deal with a different individual all the time.” The official said Khan was treated shabbily because some people were being given positions as payback for supporting the present administration. “It is alleged that certain people are getting on tours with the team because they supported the current administration. If the team has to pay for this, then West Indies cricket is worse off than people think. “If we are to get anywhere in world cricket, we need the right people in the right positions and not those who are hungry for power and are only interested in protecting their interests.”
Efforts to contact Khan for a comment proved futile.