South Africa keeper-batter Quinton De Kock, in a major surprise, made himself unavailable for selection in South Africa's important T20 World Cup 2021 Group 1 Super 12 stage match against West Indies in Dubai on Tuesday.
SA captain Temba Bavuma revealed this at the toss saying the De Kock had made himself unavailable due to personal reasons. Attacking opener Reeza Hendricks replaced the left-handed de Kock in South Africa's XI.
“Quinny is out and Reeza is in. He (de Kock) has made himself unavailable for personal reasons,” Bavuma said who won the toss and opted to bowl first.
“I think just having a look at the wicket, it has been challenging for us to know what a good score is, so we want to have a look. We take out a lot (from the series win against West Indies), all the positives and all the negatives. We know what a power-packed side they are, looking at our performances we know where we can cool them down. (Area of focus) Probably the batting. I think that would be the one I would highlight and like to show a better batting display,” Bavuma said.
West Indies, too made one change to their side which was bowled out for 55 against England. Seamer Obed McCoy was replaced by Hayden Walsh.
Meanwhile, Cricket South Africa issued a directive to South African team players to take the knee for the remainder of their T20 World cup matches.
“The Cricket South Africa (CSA) Board on Monday evening unanimously agreed to issue a directive requiring all Proteas players to adopt a consistent and united stance against racism by “taking the knee” prior to the start of their remaining World Cup matches. Concerns were raised that the different postures taken by team members in support of the BLM initiative created an unintended perception of disparity or lack of support for the initiative.
After considering all relevant issues, including the position of the players, the Board felt that it was imperative for the team to be seen taking a united and consistent stand against racism, especially given SA’s history. Several other teams at the World Cup have adopted a consistent stance against the issue, and the Board felt it is time for all SA players to do the same,” CSA’s official statement read.
