Sikandar Raza's complaint of racial abuse gets Zimbabwean coach suspended

A local coach in Zimbabwe has been suspended following a complaint of racial abuse made by star all-rounder Sikandar Raza. The Pakistani-born Zimbabwe T20 captain had registered a complaint with the Harare Metropolitan Cricket Association (HMCA) in which he accused coach Blessing Mafuwa of racial abuse during a local game on 1 June, according to ESPNCricinfo.

Raza was representing Old Hararians in their Vigne Cup tie against the Rainbow Cricket Club when he allegedly faced derogatory comments from Mafuwa while walking off the field. While the 39-year-old did not name Mafuwa in his complaint, HMCA chairperson Tafadzwa Madoro confirmed him as the one accused of racist behavior.

‘We don’t take racism allegations lightly’

Madoro added that Mafuwa will be attending a hearing on Tuesday to answer charges from the report and is suspended from all activities in the HMCA until then.

“We received a report of racial abuse that our T20 captain (Raza) suffered, last week. We are in the process of investigating. Blessing Mafuwa will attend a hearing this coming Tuesday. He will answer charges from the report. In the interim, he is suspended from all activities in the HMCA.

“We don’t take racism allegations lightly. We don’t condone any racial abuse in HMCA. We will want to investigate this as quickly as possible,” Madoro told ESPNCricinfo.

Raza, meanwhile, maintained that “an example should be made out of him”, if found guilty, so that no player has to deal with such behaviour in the future.

“If found guilty, an example should be made out of him so that stuff like this never happens again to this and future generations,” Raza told the website.

Raza had recently made headlines for playing the one-off Test against England at Trent Bridge, Nottingham, where he scored a half-century during Zimbabwe’s second essay, and starring in Lahore Qalandars’ victory in the Pakistan Super League final less than 24 hours after the conclusion of the Test.