Leicestershire CCC chief exec sets targets ahead of action packed 2015
County cricket may be at the back of many people’s minds at this time of year yet for Leicestershire’s new head, plans are already well underway for the 2015 campaign.
Wasim Khan MBE was appointed as the Midlands’ club’s chief executive at the end of October, laying out his plans for the New Year and his aims for the team.
With vast experience in community projects, through his work with the Professional Cricketers Association and the Cricket Foundation, Khan has put community engagement at the forefront of his objectives.
He stressed that although working with the South Asian community is something that is extremely important, it is vital that the Club looks to engage with the whole community in Leicester, Leicestershire and Rutland.
He said: “I don’t believe that the issue of engaging with the South Asian community is a problem that lies with Leicestershire alone.
“In highly South Asian demographic areas, I think that everybody would hold their hands up in cricket and say that based on participation levels and the number of young South Asians in county age group squads around the country, the conversion rate is still very low.
“There is clearly a blockage in the system somewhere and I would like to think that Leicestershire can place itself at the forefront of addressing this.
“It would be great for us to be the pioneers of a pathway that sees more young cricketers from South Asian backgrounds transitioning into the professional game.”
Acknowledging that it may be a tough task to achieve all his targets, Khan added that he is certainly up for the challenge and hopes Leicestershire CCC can become a leader for community engagement in the league.
He said: “We are fortunate that we have a very active and very successful Leicestershire and Rutland Cricket board here. They do a huge amount of good work in the community and there’s a real opportunity for us to work very closely together.
“There is a great platform to look at everything that we do. We want to be become family-centred and engage more with the South Asian community. We want to create more of an emotional connection with people so that they feel that this is their community Club.”
