A "devastated" Zimbabwe sports minister Kirsty Coventry on Friday denied government interference in cricket matters and insisted that the commission which disbanded Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) was a "public body".
The ICC on Thursday suspended Zimbabwe Cricket for violating its constitution, a decision which evoked sympathy for the country's affected cricketers.
Zimbabwe's Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) had suspended Zimbabwe Cricket board in June and formed an interim committee to manage cricket affairs in the country, prompting ICC to suspend ZC.
In a series of tweets, Coventry, a two-time Olympic gold medallist swimmer, said, "There has been no Government Interference @ICC !!!"
"I am devastated that the @ICC ruling has affected our @ZimCricketv Players. There is need for good governance at ZC for the international success we all want to see. Any decisions towards that should never affect the Players."
"......Just a few Zimbos done well abroad. Why don't we hold on to them."
"......I pose the question to highlight that the mass exodus of players has nothing to do with the lack of talent. More that we let them down by bad administration."