By Paras Ramoutar, IANS
Port-of-Spain : West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) has announced the appointment of Omar Khan as its new manager, replacing legendry former captain Clive Lloyd.
“The WICB see this as a crucial appointment at this point in time as they are in the process of re-engineering the organisation,” the board said in a statement.
Khan, a graduate of the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine, has held positions on several state boards in Trinidad and Tobago.
The board feels that as manager Khan will bring “competencies and expertise that will complement the board’s focus on raising the standards of West Indies cricket and improving the performance of the team.”
Khan’s first assignment will be against Sri Lanka in the Digicel Home Series this month. Khan took over the manager’s role of the Trinidad and Tobago team five years ago and transformed them into the best team in the Caribbean.
WICB also adopted a vision to rebuilt West Indies team and make them a force by 2012.
Donald Peters, chief executive officer of WICB during the the launch of the Clico International Under 15 Cricket Series at the Queen’s Park Cricket Club, said that the younger generation holds the future.
“The future is in our determination that in five years we will once more be at the pinnacle, the very top of world cricket. This is the future and this global tournament that Clico is sponsoring is a major milestone in that journey,” Peters said.
“We have imposed our brand of cricket on the world and must continue to do so. We play with panache, with heart and soul and create excitement wherever we go. That is our heritage, our legacy and our task for the years ahead,” he said.
Youngsters must see cricket as a job from which they can earn a living, he said. “Our young people must understand that there is a future for them in cricket, a bright and prosperous future.”
He pointed out that the average member of the West Indies team earned $200,000 for the World Cup, while a player in the Standford Twenty20 got an average of $50,000.
The WICB plans to establish a professional league in the Caribbean in 2009.
Also, the Board will develop cricket at all levels in all countries, and will have a 300 per cent increase in the pool of available players for each aspect of the game by 2012.