As South Africa took the field against West Indies in their T20 World Cup 2021 game on Tuesday, there was no sign of Quinton de Kock. While Cricket South Africa claimed that the wicketkpper-batsman made himself unavailable for selection for a crucial game due to personal reasons, they later clarified that he pulled out due to his stand against the Black Lives Matter Movement.
After the southpaw refrained from taking the knee in his side's 1st Game of the T20 World Cup, Cricket South Africa had directed The Proteas to collectively take a knee. Surprisingly, de Kock pulled out after that. There have been instances in the past as well when he refused to take a knee. CSA in a statement said that the board will await a further report by the team management before deciding on the next steps. It also stated that all players are expected to follow this directive and take a knee against racism in the remaining games of the World Cup.
Former West Indies captain Darren Sammy said during commentary that Sometimes he doesn't understand why is it so difficult to support this movement if one understands what it stands for.
Interestingly, all Indian players also took a knee in their World Cup opening game against Pakistan on Sunday.
Also Read: T20 World Cup 2021: Team India takes the knee and leaves the internet divided