Former Zimbabwe Cricket bowling Coach, Makhaya Ntini claims he was asked to resign from his post because players and staff were not happy with his training methods.
Ntini was disputing claims by his former employer, Zimbabwe Cricket, that he resigned from his post as the bowling coach.
“The honest truth is that I didn’t resign,” Ntini told South African radio,Radio 2000.
“I received a text message from the MD (Managing Director), saying that he would like to talk to me. The first thing that he mentioned, he reminded me that we had a chat about four months ago regarding some of the players’ unhappiness.
“Some of the players and the staff members went to see him and reported that they are not happy with the job I am doing and that the job that I was given was not meant for me,” he said.
“After I had that meeting with the MD, I called them straight away, the players and the staff and I asked them. I said guys I just came back from the MD and he says that some of you said the job that I was appointed for was not meant for me. Who is that person? And that person, if he had a problem with me, he should have approached me. None of them actually had owned up,” Ntini said while claiming that the players were so shocked that was said about him.
Although his contract was up for renewal this month, after he was appointed on a two-year deal in January 2016, Ntini claimed that he was told he would not be part of the Bangladesh Tour.
Zimbabwe Cricket had earlier in the day sent out a press release in which they said they “reluctantly” accepted Ntini’s resignation and thanked him for his service.
“Charismatic, ever-helpful, hard-working and always full of energy, Makhaya’s experience and immense knowledge of the game have helped to bolster the ZC national team into a competitive outfit that went on to record Zimbabwe’s first ever away one-day international series win over Sri Lanka in 2017,” the release said.
One player who spoke to 263Chat , however, said although Ntini’s training methods were grueling and would take life out of the players, he still remained a good bowling coach.
“While he (Ntini) is a good coach and his record speaks volumes of his achievements, as players we feel like the methods he uses sometimes take the life out of our souls. He has this rigorous training method which is not good at all, but that does not take away his mercurial record,” said a senior Zimbabwe Cricket player.
In Ntini’s last match in charge, the inaugural four-day, day-night Test against South Africa, Zimbabwe only took nine wickets and lost inside two days.
