Updated: Quinton de Kock may never play for South Africa again following his decision not to “take the knee” ahead of the T20 World Cup match against the West Indies.
That’s the view of leading commentator Harsha Bhogle, after the 28-year-old withdrew from the match in Dubai.
Initial reports stated he withdrew due to “personal reasons”, however Cricket South Africa later confirmed the decision was related to a directive issued to the team that all members must “take the knee”.
According to Bhogle, we may not see the superstar wicketkeeper-batter on the international stage again.
“I fear we haven’t heard the last of the de Kock issue,” he tweeted.
“I won’t be surprised if we don’t see him in a Protea shirt again.”
https://twitter.com/bhogleharsha/status/1452945240076087300?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
In a statement, Cricket South Africa confirmed de Kock’s withdrawal was a direct consequence of the instruction to kneel.
“Cricket South Africa (CSA) has noted the personal decision by South African wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock not to ‘take the knee’ ahead of Tuesday’s game against the West Indies,” the statement read.
“All players had been required, in line with a directive of the CSA Board on Monday evening, to “take the knee” in a united and consistent stance against racism.
“This is also the global gesture against racism that has been adopted by sportspeople across sporting codes because they recognise the power of sport to bring people together.
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https://twitter.com/OfficialCSA/status/1452961846978387971
“After considering all relevant issues, including the freedom of choice of players, the Board had made it clear it was imperative for the team to be seen taking a stand against racism, especially given SA’s history.
“The Board’s view was that while diversity can and should find expression in many facets of daily lives, this did not apply when it came to taking a stand against racism.
“The Board will await a further report from team management before deciding on the next steps. All players are expected to follow this directive for the remaining games of the World Cup.
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“CSA thanks all other Proteas players for agreeing to unite and make such an important public stand against racism.”
https://twitter.com/firdosem/status/1452954147980972035?s=21
Prior to his withdrawal, Cricket South Africa had issued a public directive to its cricketers to take a knee prior to play in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
That statement followed media reports highlighting a photo of South African players prior to their game against Australia on Saturday, which showed the Proteas taking varied approaches to the protest against racism.
Some players knelt with a fist in the air, others stood with a fist in the air, while some stood with hands behind their back.
“The CSA board… unanimously agreed to issue a directive requiring all Proteas players to adopt a consistent and united stance against racism by taking a knee prior to the start of their remaining World Cup matches,” the statement read.
“Concerns were raised that the different postures taken by team members in support of the BLM initiative created an unintended perception of disparity or lack of support.”
– Additional reporting with Marc Churches