President of the T&T Cricket Board (TTCB) Azim Bassarath has welcomed the appointment of former national cricketer Zaheer Ali as a nominated member of the TTCB.
Ali is a police officer who heads the Zaheer Ali Foundation, and replaces Pirtie Ramnarinesingh, the Valiants Cricket Club manager/owner who passed away suddenly last month.
Bassarath said that Ali brings a wealth of experience as a former national cricketer and public servant whose unique perspective will add to the deliberations of the board as the game continues its transition into the future.
"Zaheer has been making a valuable input in local cricket especially in the development of the young players through his foundation which has been playing an integral part in conducting motivational and psycho-analytical sessions with the Under-19 NGC/TTCB Academy," said Bassarath.
"With this appointment, the TTCB has reinforced its confidence in his ability to add value to the local cricket product in shaping the hearts and minds of the present and future generation of players," said Bassarath.
A left-handed batsman in his heyday, Ali represented T&T at the regional level after showing great promise as an Under-19 player who was picked by the West Indies and participated in the 2000 ICC World Cup in Sri Lanka.
After retiring from First Class cricket, Ali set up The Zaheer Ali Foundation (ZAF) in 2013, an organisation comprised of professionals from various professional fields (law enforcement, medicine, legal, sports, psychology) and uses workshops, seminars, motivational talks and mentoring to assist in addressing the problem of youth delinquence.
And in an immediate reaction to his appointment, Ali said he was honoured and privileged to be given the opportunity to serve.
"I embrace this opportunity especially in light of the recent calls for immediate action to be taken for the accelerated development of the sport both nationally and regionally. I am confident that I can add value to the administration of cricket based on my knowledge and experience both on and off the field," he said in a statement.
Ali expressed his appreciation to the TTCB stating he is encouraged by the decision taken by the executive of the national cricket organisation. "It demonstrates and signals their intention to invest in the youth and to broaden the wealth of the human resource capacity in the best interest of the sport."
He thanked his parents and all those who have supported the Zaheer Ali Foundation over the years in shaping and moulding the at-risk youngsters of the nation.He called on the entire cricketing fraternity to exercise patience and persevere with his fellow administrators in the best interest of the sport.
"It is my intention to listen to all the stakeholders in order to get as far as practicable the best fit for the development and continued development of cricket in all aspects.I say to my younger brothers and sisters who are involved in the sport and those motivated to join that everyone will get an equal and fair opportunity to realize their potential," he said.
Ali said he intends to have dialogue with his TTCB colleagues to get a better appreciation of their plans for moving cricket forward and plans to hold discussions in the coming months through workshops and seminars for zones, clubs, primary and secondary schools representatives, parents, sponsors, the media and other stakeholders.