Tikolo steps down as Kenya captain
Steve Tikolo says he has stepped down as Kenya's captain after helping the team qualify for the 2011 World Cup. He will, however, play with the national team for the next two years before retiring from the game
Cricinfo staff
21-Apr-2009
Steve Tikolo: "It has been a privilege being captain for the last seven years." • Getty Images
Steve Tikolo says he has stepped down as Kenya's captain after helping the team qualify for the 2011 World Cup. He will, however, play with the national team for the next two years before retiring from the game.
Tikolo, 37, said he told his teammates four days ago, before the last qualifying match against the Netherlands, that that would be his last game as captain.
"It has been a privilege being captain for the last seven years," Tikolo told AFP. "I believe this is the right time to give a younger player the chance of leading Kenya into the fifth successive World Cup. I will be 40 at the time and I will not be in the right frame to play."
Tikolo, a veteran of four World Cups and 117 ODIs, said reaching the semi-finals of the 2003 World Cup was the high point of his captaincy.
He made his ODI debut against India in Cuttack in February 1996 and he went on to score 3213 runs at 31.19. He was appointed captain in 2002 replacing Maurice Odumbe, who was banned for five years after being found guilty of match-fixing.