Former India keeper-batter Parthiv Patel has slammed South Africa coach Shukri Conrad for his ‘making India grovel’ remark and demanded an apology from the Proteas coach. This came after Anil Kumble and Cheteshwar Pujara chastised him for his remark, and Dale Steyn distanced himself from what the 58-year-old had to say during the post-day press conference on Tuesday.
Parthiv Patel said he expected more from a South African cricketer, calling the word 'disrespectful.' He also stated that Conrad should apologize for the remark.
“Maybe the South African coach does not know the weightage of the word. But I don’t think so. There was a smirk on his face when he said it. There is no doubt that it was disrespectful. As the Indian team, all you do is tell them that ‘you’ve come to this situation by playing well. Well done to you. But there was no need to use such words’. I think through the day we will see an apology from Conrad. I don’t think such things are needed on the cricketing field. You can fight and play hard, but such things are not needed,” Patel said on Star Sports.
The term 'grovel' has a bad reputation in cricket history, with its most notorious use occurring during England's 1976 summer. Almost everyone, with the exception of England captain Tony Greig, acknowledged the West Indies' growing supremacy during their tour.
Windies captain Clive Lloyd commented, "The word 'grovel' is certain to spike the blood pressure of any Black man... Hearing it from a white South African made matters worse. We were angry. West Indians everywhere were enraged. We resolved to show the world that groveling was a thing of the past.”
This came after the West Indies easily defeated England 5-0 in the United Kingdom.
Conrad understood the weight of the word. Moments after using the word "grovel," he softened the impact with a fast "to borrow a phrase," indicating that he understood its historical significance.
Meanwhile, South Africa created history by defeating India in the second Test and winning their first Test series in India since 2000. India’s 408-run defeat was also their biggest in Test history by runs.
