Highlights
- CSA has faced administrative crisis in the last 24 months
- The game is also facing allegations of racial discrimination
- Test match between India and South Africa will be played from December 26
johannesburg
South African cricket has faced another controversy ahead of the first Test against India over allegations of racial bias against some of its former legends. However, South African Test team captain Dean Elgar has said that his team’s focus is on performing professionally against the “best team” in the world.
South African cricket has faced an administrative crisis in the last 24 months and its impact is so great that Elgar does not remember who is currently running the country’s cricket. Not only this, the game is also facing allegations of racial discrimination.
Last month, the Social Justice and Nation Building Commission (SJN) in its report accused former South African captain and current Director of Cricket South Africa (CSA) Graeme Smith, current head coach Mark Boucher and former batsman AB de Villiers for racially threatening players. He was accused of engaging in ‘prejudiced conduct’.
SJN also accused CSA of discriminating against players on the basis of race. In a virtual conversation with the media ahead of the Boxing Day Test against India, Elgar was asked a question on the current controversy related to South Africa cricket as expected, but he said that the team is not much affected by it.
Elgar said, ‘No, it’s not difficult enough for us. As players, in the last year and a half, we have got used to hearing bad news. We try to reconcile them. Of course making headlines like this is not the ideal situation. We just want to focus on our cricket. We want to focus on playing a tough series against India. It is great to see him back in South Africa.
The left-handed batsman said, ‘For us it is all about focusing on cricket, for the next few days focusing on preparation, improving our cricketing skills.’ Elgar, however, said that dealing with instability in the CSA administration is not easy. “There is not much stability from the administration point of view. There are so many administrators that we don’t even know who is doing the responsibility right now. Hopefully soon there will be more stability in CSA.
Elgar said he was sorry that the coach and team management were not getting enough support. “I think we support our coach from the players point of view, we need to give him a lot of love. I think sometimes they work so hard… that’s the biggest thing (that goes unnoticed) because I know what they do behind the scenes.’
According to Elgar, ‘It doesn’t feel good to see a coach facing criticism despite doing a great job behind the scenes.’ When asked how the constant controversy affects the atmosphere of the team, Elgar said that whatever happens off the field, players have to do their job.
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