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Mehluli Sibanda, Senior Sports Reporter

AUSTERITY measures at Zimbabwe Cricket will see employees taking a significant salary cut after the International Cricket Council slashed funding by US$4 million from last November.

ZC’s annual allocation from the ICC was reduced from US$9 million to US$5 million.

Tavengwa Mukuhlani, the ZC chairman, said despite ICC slashing funding in November last year, they still continued to pay their employees their usual salaries to cushion them from prevailing economic challenges.

He indicated that once ICC reinstates full funding later this year, ZC will readjust employees’ pay.

“The distribution has been reduced from $9 million to $5 million from September 2019 to October 2020, but ZC has started to effect the changes now. This was done to cushion employees. Once normal distribution resumes, salaries will be adjusted again,” Mukuhlani said.

Zimbabwe have a jam-packed Future Tours Programme for 2020 and Mukuhlani stated that they had to engage tough actions to enable them to fulfil their obligations.

“ZC has a packed FTP for the first time in a long time, so we had to take the cautionary measures now in order to avoid canceling tours, as has been witnessed with Ireland lately. This is purely a cautionary measure.”

In addition to pay cuts, ZC will not televise all non-profitable home tours, but transmit the matches via the internet. ZC will also not engage in any home tours that do not generate revenue. 

“Further to salary cuts, all loss-making home tours will be live streamed and more Test matches will be played away from home. Any bilateral tours without context won’t be played. Instead more emphasis will be given to the (Zimbabwe) A side, domestic and ZC Academy, which will be introduced soon,” said Mukuhlani.

Zimbabwe recently hosted Sri Lanka in two Test matches and the series is likely to have left a big hole in ZC finances. The two matches were, however, live streamed and not televised. 

Zimbabwe head to Bangladesh for one Test, three one-day internationals and two Twenty20 Internationals this month.

Ireland are scheduled to tour Zimbabwe in April for one Test and five T20Is. ZC might replace the Test with ODIs due to costs associated with hosting a five-day contest.

Zimbabwe are scheduled to tour Australia for three ODIs, host India and Netherlands before heading to Sri Lanka as well as Pakistan later in the year.

Meanwhile, on the domestic front, Tuskers host Rangers in back-to-back Pro50 matches at Queens Sports Club on Wednesday and Thursday, while Mountaineers play against Eagles in Harare on Tuesday and Wednesday. On Saturday and Monday, Mountaineers take on Tuskers at Takashinga Cricket Club, with Eagles clashing against Rhinos at Harare Sports Club.

National selectors will use the Pro50 matches to choose the Chevrons’ squad for the tour of Bangladesh. — @Mdawini_29