Collins Obuya - Kenya - Batting Allrounder

Collins Obuya is a Kenyan cricketer who first came into limelight during the 2003 World Cup when he performed exceptionally well for Kenya. He picked up 13 wickets at 28.76 and took a career best 5 for 24 in Kenya's win over Sri Lanka. He was the Man of the Match in that game. This superb performance earned him a one-year contract with Warwickshire in 2003. The next year or so was not an ideal one for Obuya. He missed the 2004 Champions Trophy due to appendicitis.

Not soon after, Obuya joined the players' strike and left England to play club cricket for South Africa. However, he struggled with his form with the ball. He also travelled to Australia to train with spin-blowing coach Terry Jenner in 2005 but did not improve. Hence, he decided to concentrate full-time on developing his batting skills becoming a specialist batsman since then.

After a dismal performance in the 2011 World Cup, the then Kenyan captain Jimmy Kamande was replaced by Collins Obuya. Since then, he has led Kenya to several impressive victories.

In November 2013, Obuya was suspended for 2 matches following an altercation with team-mate Irfan Karim and Rakep Patel captained the team in his absence. Obuya later resigned from the post in December 2013 prompting Cricket Kenya to give the permanent job to Rakep Patel.

By Sonali Dhulap
As of May 2014