South Africa’s Quinton de Kock hurled himself in the eye of a storm after skipping Tuesday’s T20 World Cup match against West Indies and defying a team order to take a knee which could jeopardise his further participation in the tournament.
Former Pakistan captain Salman Butt criticised South Africa stumper-batsman Quinton de Kock skipped Tuesday’s T20 World Cup match against West Indies citing ‘personal reasons’ after the team were directed to take a knee in their remaining matches in the tournament.
“What he did was really strange. Everyone is taking part in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) moment, which basically says that all humans are equal and no one should consider themselves superior on the basis of race or color,” Butt said in on his Youtube channel.
“It was decided for everyone that players should take a knee. His decision will not unite people but will only create a further divide. I really don’t know why he did this.”
“He (De Kock) lives in a country where people from both races are in abundance. This is certainly not the South Africa of Nelson Mandela. When things in South Africa improved and they merged themselves back with the rest of the world, he united people,” he added.
De Kock had declined to take a knee in the past calling it “my own personal opinion”.
CSA Board chairperson Lawson Naidoo said commitment to overcoming racism “is the glue that should unite” the team.
De Kock’s defiance did not go down well with the CSA.
“…(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 board said in a statement.
“The Board will await a further report from team management before deciding on the next steps.”South Africa face Sri Lanka in their next match on Saturday.
