After being refused a central contract renewal, left-arm spinner Hamza Tahir announced his formal grievances, which Cricket Scotland will now look into. Tahir plans to retire immediately.
Between 2018 and 2024, Hamza, 28, participated in 31 ODIs and 17 T20Is for Scotland, taking 40 and 23 wickets, respectively. He was called a “tremendous performer” by Cricket Scotland, which also expressed gratitude for his services to the national side.
Cricket Scotland’s Performance department is still happy with Hamza’s call, despite the player outlining some of the performance-based reasons for his contract not being renewed. In a statement, the body that oversees cricket highlighted that it has a grievance mechanism in place that allows people to voice concerns about certain issues. They promised that they will reply to Hamza and his advisors appropriately and that they are presently conducting an impartial investigation into the issues brought up.
“I’ve contributed a great deal to Cricket Scotland and the sport. It has just seemed like a waste of time looking back. I’ve worked really hard and invested a lot of energy, yet I haven’t received a just reward. Simply put, it’s a toxic environment, and I don’t want to be a part of it,” Tahir remarked.
Of course, I was hoped to continue playing for Scotland. Hamza Tahir
Moreover, Hamza Tahir asserted that he got a call from someone at Cricket Scotland telling him that his contract was not going to be extended. The disgruntled cricket player felt that his six-year tenure had been a waste of time and regretted not making more progress during that time.
“On March 25, five days before my contract was set to expire, I received a call from someone at Cricket Scotland informing me that my contract would not be renewed. Since playing cricket is all I truly know how to do, it goes without saying that I was hoping to continue playing for Scotland. Getting that call was difficult. I don’t think I’ve accomplished anything. In those six years, I’ve had 49 caps,” Tahir said.
“It was a waste of time, looking back. I had the option to do something entirely different throughout those six years. “I understand that you ought to be grateful for your life, but it has been difficult to be apart from family, to miss out on occasions and funerals, and to not be present when someone has died away,” he continued.
Wilf Walsh, the chairman of Cricket Scotland, stated that while the board is prepared to guarantee a brighter future for the game, it will not be feasible to make up for the wrongs of the past.
Wilf Walsh stated in his statement, “It is evident that culture must be at the centre of our sport’s redemptive and unifying journey as part of our Cricket Scotland strategy and vision.”
“After more than two years, I understand the frustrations of people who believe the results of the independent study do not offer sufficient closure. I say it again: there are no winners from this unedifying episode. We can’t just erase the mistakes of the past, but we can make sure that our current efforts will significantly benefit our sport’s future,” he continued.
On July 16, Richie Berrington‘s team will play Oman in Dundee to continue their Cricket World Cup League Two campaign. Having won one and lost two of their opening three games, Scotland is now ranked fourth in the standings.