AB De Villiers is not surprised that just days before South Africa renew their bid for the elusive World Cup, racial quotas in the team are the only talk back home. It is a recurring situation and de Villiers, who retired in 2018, is happy to be a mere spectator to the situation now.
“.it’s a shame to go to a tournament to focus on that.I imply it is not anything new, it is only a shame
,” lamented one in every of South Africa’s cricketing greats. “Fortunately this time I had nothing to do with anything there.I am just a spectator,” the 40-year-old said in an interaction with PTI mediated by ‘Jio Cinema’. The reason for the outrage is the presence of only one black player in the team for the T20 show, which will be held in America from June 1.
Being the perennial bridesmaids who tend to suffocate in crunch situations, South Africa are somehow always in the pre-tournament favorites category without actually following through. And having a deeply divisive issue take center stage just days before their campaign kicks off is far from ideal for a country with a troubled past when it comes to race relations. The Proteas will take on the Netherlands in New York on June 8.
During the course of the season, South Africa must have six players of color to play in the playing eleven, including two from the black African community under a policy introduced in 2016. With Kagiso Rabada the only black African in the T20 World Cup squad, the national team is set to miss its target. Another black African, Lungi Ngidi, is part of the traveling reserves. Other players of color include Reeza Hendricks, Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi and Ottniel Baartman. “At home, as usual before the World Cup, there are controversial moments in the South African team,” de Villiers said.”I suppose it is an excellent team. It’s a disgrace for Lungi… (he’s) lost a bit of form, had a few injuries.
Otherwise he’d most likely be in the squad and there wouldn’t be one.” controversial things at home,” he added. Currently, Cricket South Africa does not have a selection committee and the team is selected by head coaches Shukri Conrad (Tests) and Rob Walter (white ball cricket).”Sometimes this stuff take place and you’re below stress due to it as a panel, as a train and as a captain,” de Villiers said. “From what I remember, it’s a quota system, it’s an average team, an average number per season, and they don’t really look at every series, but as journalists sometimes enjoy when you steam it a little bit,” he tried to put things in the context of.
Following the team selection earlier this month, former sports minister Fikile Mbalula and former CSA and ICC president Ray Mali questioned the composition of the side. “Only one African player has been selected in the Proteas squad for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 squad. This is definitely a caveat (reversal) of the gains of the transformation and does not reflect the fair representation of all South Africans in the national cricket tea,” Mbalula wrote. on X. On SABC Sport, Mali said the game is headed back in the country.
“I accept as true with plenty has been achieved, however I accept as true with we’ve got long gone backwards in cricket – we’ve got taken a step again in place of going forward,” Mali said. But de Villiers was a little more empathetic to those making the decisions, saying he saw nothing sinister about the process. “Maybe they are small. Maybe they have the right to do whatever was needed in this World Cup.” “Keep in mind there have been a few injuries, a few players out of form. It’s never easy,” he said.
On the other hand, the South African IPL stars have shown ominous form in the previous T20 league and that would surely give them confidence to make it to the World Cup as well. Impact Player Rule in IPL needs to be re-examined ============================= Talking about the recently concluded IPL, de Villiers told Impact Player Rule , which has helped teams amass 250-plus totals eight times this season, needs to be revised. “… what I really didn’t like about the rule is actually pushing players who have already participated in the game. This part of the rule makes no sense. I feel like it needs to be a fair exchange.”
“If someone hasn’t been in the game, they need to be replaced. If you feel like you’re going to be lacking in the bowling or batting department, it just makes it a bit harder to strategize and it’s more of a risk to replace someone. ” He also wants more than two players in the power bowl in the field outside the ring. “I still feel that T20 cricket has to be a batting game, that’s why the fans come to the parks. They want to see the ball flying all over the park and into the night sky,” he said.
“But you still want to see the bowlers sometimes outwit the batsmen…in the first six overs by maybe easing the restrictions. “If there are four or five out, I don’t know exactly, but at least the pitcher can plan for it,” he mused.
