Cricket South Africa (CSA) has been under scanner for the 15-man squad picked for the upcoming ICC Men's T20 World Cup to be played in the Caribbean and the USA. Former South Africa Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula has called out CSA for the inclusion of just one black African player in the Proteas squad for the marquee event - Kagiso Rabada - among six players of colour named in the 15.
The current CSA policy requires the board to have six players of colour at any point in the season in the squad, out of which two must be black. Kagiso Rabada is the only black player amongst the six players of colour including Reeza Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Bjorn Fortuin, Tabraiz Shamsi and Ottniel Baartman. Pacer Lungi Ngidi will also be travelling with the squad but he will be restricted to reserves unless and until a player in the main squad gets injured.
"Only 1 African player selected in the Proteas Team for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 Team. Definitely a reserval of the gains of transformation and doesn't reflect fair representation of all South Africans in the national cricket team," Mbalula wrote on Twitter (now X) reacting to the Proteas' squad.
Speaking on SABC Sport, Mali said, "I believe a lot has been achieved, but I believe we have gone backwards in terms of cricket – we have taken a step backwards instead of going forward. I cannot understand why we can’t have a (larger) number of black players in the South African cricket team at this day and age – no, it’s not acceptable.”
"We have betrayed the people who asked us to negotiate unity for this country. Players are mentored or monitored right from their early days up to the top, so you know which players will represent South Africa," he added.
White-ball coach Rob Walter on the other hand, at the time of selection last month put it down to the ripple effect of domestic cricket and lack of diversity among quality players coming through while saying “number one imperative is to create a winning team”.
Till last year, the white-ball team was led by Temba Bavuma, however, his diminishing returns with the bat led to CSA changing hands with Aiden Markram, now leading the side, who has led his SA20 team Sunrisers Eastern Cape to two titles in addition to the Under-19 World Cup title for South Africa back in 2014.
South Africa squad for T20 World Cup: Aiden Markram (c), Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Bjorn Fortuin, Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee, Tabraiz Shamsi, Ottniel Baartman
Travelling Reserves: Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger
