The Kenya cricket team batting coach Maurice Odumbe says he is being treated as an outcast by the Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) and claimed the situation has left him depressed.
The former captain who was appointed as the batting coach for the national team has never traveled with the national team for the test matches since assuming the position.
In an interview on Sunday with Citizen TV’s Jeff Koinange, Odumbe narrates his sad story and urged the national body to respect his role in the team.
“During the latest trip to South Africa I was dropped at the 11th hour with repeated claims that if I went then the team might not win, “he claimed.
Odumbe, who looked fit as he turned up for the interview, rubbished the claims for his omission from the South Africa-bound team. He instead asked the chairman to come out clear on why he is not in the team.
“I told the chairman, if you are sacking me, call a press conference and tell the country why you are sacking me.” Said Odumbe.
The cricket legend says the board has deducted his salary, asked to pay for his own visa and treat him as if he is not part of the team.
The former captain was one of Kenya’s world class players, an all-rounder who could hold his own in the side as either an aggressive middle-order batsman or strikingly accurate off spinner.
Since making his debut for Kenya in 1990, he was an automatic choice until his career hit a dead-end when he was slapped with a five-year ban after being found guilty of associating with a bookmaker.
Odumbe, who was named 'man of the match' in Kenya’s famous victory over West Indies at Pune in 1996 urged the national body to put the game first.
“It’s Not about me, it’s about the game and the country as a whole, it’s Easy to frustrate Maurice but what about the youngsters coming up?” asked Maurice.
He compares his life then as a superstar cricketer, from living in a five-bedroom house in Loresho to living in an estate on Thika road, from driving BMW cars to using boda bodas branding it as a grace to grass situation.
Odumbe’s story is an example of accounts of sports legends who were once adored at their prime but now live in squalor after their fall.
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