NAIROBI, March 28: The Kenya Cricket Association (KCA) has extended its players’ contract by two months in view of the team’s participation in next week’s Sharjar tournament, officials said Friday.

“The contracts would have expired on March 31 and the players would have had to accept or refuse our new terms,” Sharad Ghai, chairman of KCA said, claiming that previous contracts entered into after an acrimonous period in 2001 had drained the association’s coffers.

“The players have been receiving 98 per cent of our revenue and as a result we have been operating on overdraft,” he added.

The thorny issue was set to put the KCA and its players in another collision course but Ghai said the two parties had resolved to agree on a way out.

“There is a continuous dialogue which we believe will culminate in an aggrement by May 30th,” Ghai said.

Ghai confirmed that the United Arab Emirates cricket coach Abdi Ali would take temporary charge of the Kenya team in Sharjah.

The team has had no coach since Sandeep Patil opted to return home to India after the World Cup in South Africa.—AFP