India legend Sunil Gavaskar believes that what South African coach Shukri Conrad said about India after the recently finished Test series was an “ill-advised use of the word.”
Speaking on JioHotstar, Gavaskar highlighted how India has helped South African cricket over the years.
“You could say it was an ill-advised use of the word. We need to look back at South Africa’s re-entry into international cricket. It was the Indian Cricket Board that proposed South Africa’s readmission after more than 20 years of isolation, and their first international match on return was played in India. When you consider the current landscape of South African cricket, especially the SA20, five out of the six franchises are Indian-owned. These owners are significantly supporting South African players—not just the international stars who are well taken care of, but the fringe players as well—giving them opportunities to build strong careers. Indian and South African cricket have shared a positive, collaborative relationship for decades.”
South Africa whitewashed India 2–0 in the Test series. During the second Test at Guwahati, South Africa had a lead of 288 runs in the first innings and could have easily made India follow on, but they decided to bat again.
After that, Conrad said: “We wanted India to spend as much time on their feet out in the field. We wanted them to really grovel, to steal a phrase, bat them completely out of the game and then say to them well, come and survive on the last day and an hour this evening.”
Gavaskar further added: “I hope that in his next media interaction, he addresses it. I don’t think an apology is necessary; I personally don’t believe in apologies. But acknowledging it and making up for it would be accepted by everyone. These things happen. In the heat of the moment, you can get carried away and say something that goes a bit over the top. Given the strong connection between Indian and South African cricket over the last 30 years, I think he can simply clarify that he got a bit carried away.”
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