BULAWAYO – Former Minister of Sports, David Coltart, has once again publicly criticised the Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) for ‘unfairly’ treating Chevrons all-rounder Sean Williams who reportedly entered into rehabilitation after allegedly admitting to the ZC that he is suffering from drug abuse.
According to ZC, Williams voluntarily checked himself into rehab after confessing he is suffering from substance abuse, a situation that led to his failure to report for national duty.
The top cricketer recently withdrew from the Zimbabwe squad on the eve of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Africa Qualifier 2205 in Harare, citing personal reasons.
Following the incident, ZC dropped Williams indicating they will not renew his contract upon its expiry in December.
“ZC expects all contracted players to uphold the highest standards of professionalism, discipline, and compliance with team protocols and anti-doping regulations. After careful consideration, ZC has concluded that Williams will no longer be considered for national selection,” ZC wrote.
“Consequently, it is not feasible to continue his national contract beyond its expiry on 31 December 2025.”
Coltart sympathised with Williams saying ZC was supposed to deal with the matter professionally.
The Bulawayo Mayor said, “I’m completely and utterly appalled by the action taken by Zimbabwe Cricket today in the issuance of the following statement.
“I cannot think of more inappropriate timing for such a statement. And the content in many respects is risible.”
“The mention of the ‘highest professional standards’ is astonishingly ironic coming from an organization which has a history littered with maladministration,”
He added: “My thoughts are with Sean Williams and his family. He did not deserve to be betrayed in this callous, cruel and shocking way.
“Sean has been an amazing patriot who has given his all for his country and done us proud on the international stage. He and his family simply deserve better than this.”
“The Board and management of Zimbabwe Cricket should be ashamed of themselves. Do better.”
Williams, 38, has been one of Zimbabwe’s most consistent performers in recent years.
He has scored almost 9,000 runs and taken more than 150 wickets across all three formats of the game for his country.
