Whither Zimbabwe?

The wound has been festering long enough and chucking Zimbabwe out of the Full Members league looks a fait accompli as ICC goes into a huddle in Dubai.

I don't doubt the reasons either. Probably Mugabe stands for all the vices of the world and the money meant for the players are finding their way to Peter Chingoka's account too. So ICC should not be worried about any backlash even if they slam the door on Zimbabwe.

But what about the players?

Will it force Brendon Taylor come Brendon the tailor? Hamilton Masakadza once put his career on hold to pursue a university degree. Will the decision mean complete abandoning of his craft? Can anyone guarantee that Mluleki Nkala, Kadoma's poster boy, would not return to his Ndebele tribe? Maybe 'Psych', who scalped Tendulkar with only his second ball in international cricket, would be spending the rest of his life washing toilets at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International Airport to feed his 13 siblings.

In all probability, it would be end of all roads for Chamu Chibhabha and his sister Julia, captain of their women's team, as well. Probably their worried parents would tell them to stop dreaming pie in the sky and do something more pragmatic.

I fear, Prosper Utseya would remain an embarrassing misnomer. I won't be surprised either if Blessing Mahwire goes haywire. Having once remodelled his action, he may now need to remodel his career altogether. Tatenda Taibu, understandably, would be frugal with the USD 125,000 he generated from the IPL auction, while Henry Olonga would continue to oblige the British media from his base in exile.

Does anyone see the road ahead? Is there one at all?

Image: BBC