Ex-Zimbabwe national team manager and player Babu Meman dies in UK
- vimbayi makwavarara
- Jul 2
- 2 min read
BY SPORTSCAST WRITER
HARARE – Former Zimbabwe cricket team manager and one-cap international Babu Meman has died in the United Kingdom at the age of 73, a family spokesperson has said.
Meman passed away in hospital this Wednesday morning in Leicester, England, over a decade after immigrating there.
“A couple of years ago he suffered a huge heart attack and never really recovered from it,” said the family member.
“He was struggling without a stick support and became very slow in his movement.”
A competent spinning all-rounder in his playing days, Meman played a single One-Day International (ODI) for Zimbabwe, against India at the 1987 World Cup co-hosted by India and Pakistan.
In doing so, Meman became only the second non-white player to represent Zimbabwe after Ali Shah, also from the country’s closely-knit Asian community.
Mohamed Ahmed Meman – affectionately known by his nickname Babu his entire life – was born in Zambia at Lundazi in 1952.
Soon after his birth his family moved to neighbouring Zimbabwe, where he grew up, becoming an active member of the Asian community in Harare throughout his adulthood.
In his younger days, Meman excelled in both cricket and hockey at Morgan High School in Harare, a school for Asian and mixed-race students in the Rhodesia era.
Meman played most of his adult cricket for Universals, a dominantly Indian club based in Harare’s Asian neighourhood of Belvedere.
The highlight of Meman’s domestic cricket career was playing in the Minor Counties Championship in England for Shropshire from 1977 to 1980. He played 32 matches for the county, in addition to playing club games for Pudsey St Lawrence in Yorkshire and Tonge.
The larger part of Meman’s involvement with Zimbabwean cricket was as the national side’s energetic manager for 15 years since the early 90s. However in-between, others also assumed the role of manager, while Meman became part of the national selection panel at one stage.
Meman was the manager during the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Kenya. Known for his wry humour in the changing room, Meman had an easy-going personality that made him fit anywhere in Zimbabwe’s culturally diverse communities.
“I’m deeply saddened by the passing of my friend, Babu Meman,” said former Zimbabwe Cricket (ZC) board member Nick Chouhan.
“Babu proudly represented Zimbabwe in the 1987 ODI World Cup and was an integral part of the national team. As an accomplished off-spin bowler and batsman, he played for Universals, helping them secure promotion to the First League. After is playing days, Babu went on to serve the national team with distinction. Our shared passion for cricket brought us close, and I cherish the time we spent together, including our time in Leicester in 2023. My heartfelt to the Meman family. May Babu’s soul rest in eternal peace.”
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