South African speedster Kagiso Rabada has on Monday (November 23) said “he will 100 percent stand for the Black Lives Matter” but said it was a team decision to not take the knee in their upcoming limited-overs home series against England.
Last week, South Africa's head coach, Mark Boucher, had made it clear that his team would not be kneeling to show support towards the Black Lives Matter movement, rather, they will express solidarity with the fight against gender-based violence by wearing black armbands and in memory of the victims of COVID-19 with November 25-29 declared as the national days of mourning.
Boucher had described BLM as “an ongoing thing for us, not something that we have to continue to show” and Rabada has insisted that it would remain part of the conversation, as they will now concentrate on living out values of anti-racism rather than demonstrate them with an on-field gesture.
Rabada said on the matter, “Black Lives Matter is one-hundred percent something I will always stand for and I speak for myself. It was a team decision not to kneel and to look at gender-based violence and devote ourselves to another cause.”
The pacer further added, “However, Black Lives Matter will always be relevant and something I will always believe in and I speak for myself there. But, Mark has stated that the team will not be kneeling and that's how it's going to be.”
Noteworthy, South Africa and England are slated to play three T20Is and as many as ODIs, starting on November 27 in Cape Town.
(With ESPNCricinfo Inputs)
