South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad created a major controversy by saying that he wanted to trouble India on the fourth day (Tuesday, November 25) of the second Test in Guwahati. Several former Indian cricketers including Anil Kumble, Cheteshwar Pujara, Parthiv Patel and Aakash Chopra criticized the coach.
Questions were raised over South Africa’s decision to continue batting after lunch. Notably, a slight surface degradation was observed in Guwahati. Till the lunch break, the visiting team had a lead of 508 runs. However, he decided to continue batting until Ravindra Jadeja dismissed Tristan Stubbs, who was the top scorer with 94 runs.
Shukri Conrad said that South Africa deliberately wanted to bat long in the second innings. He said that he wants India to spend long hours in the field and feel the physical and mental stress. His comment that he wanted to “grove” India attracted attention.
South African coach Shukri Conrad does not know the weightage – Parthiv Patel
Parthiv Patel, speaking on Star Sports on Wednesday, said that South Africa coach Shukri Conrad should have known the significance and history attached to the word “grovel”. Patel said the comment was clearly offensive and said Conrad may be forced to apologize on the last day.
Patel said, “Maybe the South African coach does not know the importance of this word. But I don’t think so. There was a smile on his face when he said it. There is no doubt that it was offensive.”
He said, “Being the Indian team, you just tell them that ‘You have played well and reached this position. Well done to you. But there was no need to use such words.’
South Africa have the highest chances of winning the series – Anil Kumble
Anil Kumble said that Shukri Conrad’s language is unacceptable. He stressed that teams in control should show humility rather than resorting to provocative statements.
“There is history attached to it. Fifty years ago, an England captain used the same phrase against the great West Indies team and we all know what happened next,” Kumble said.
“Maybe South Africa has won the series, but when you are on top, your choice of words matters. Humility is most important at such times. I certainly did not expect this from the coach or the support staff. When you are winning, the first thing is to be polite, not say something like that in a press conference.”
The term became infamous in 1976 when England captain Tony Greig said he wanted to “grove” the West Indies, a comment that was condemned and deemed extremely offensive. West Indies dominated and won the five-match series 3-0.
I don’t think that statement will be liked – Cheteshwar Pujara
Cheteshwar Pujara said the comments would hurt the Indian dressing room but urged the players to channel their emotions into their cricket. He said the ideal response would be to bat with discipline, build partnerships and fight through all three sessions.
Pujara said, “There is anger in the team, but it will also cause harm. I don’t think that statement will have a good effect in the dressing room.”
“But the best way to respond to it is to fight it – bat three sessions, build partnerships. We are in this position because we have not played good cricket, and the response should come with the bat, not words.”
Also read: Simon Harmer stuns KL Rahul on the fourth day of Guwahati Test