Sunil Gavaskar reminds Shukri Conrad of South Africa’s dark cricket history after ‘growl’ comment

Batting great Sunil Gavaskar criticized South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad for his recent “serious” comments about Team India. The former India captain believes the comment crossed a line and should not have been made in the first place, adding that Conrad should address the issue in their next conversation.

India faced its second domestic wipeout in a year. During the second Test in Guwahati, Conrad made a controversial comment while explaining why his team decided not to follow on despite a huge lead of 288 runs in the first innings. Conrad said the Proteas wanted India to “really groan.”

It was a misuse of the word – Sunil Gavaskar criticizes Shukri Conrad for ‘grovel’ comment

Speaking on JioHotstar show Cricket Live on Sunday, Sunil Gavaskar said that India played a vital role in helping South Africa make a comeback in international cricket decades ago. He also informed that South Africa’s first international match after their return was played in India.

The former India batsman said, “You can say it was a misuse of the word. We need to look at South Africa’s re-entry into international cricket. It was the Indian Cricket Board which proposed the re-inclusion of South Africa after more than 20 years of isolation and their first international match on return was played in India.”

Ill-advised comment – wrong time, wrong place – Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar said that the competition between the two countries has always been tough. Gavaskar said Shukri Conrad’s recent comments were ill-timed and the wrong choice of words did not reflect the common sentiment shared by both the teams.

“Indian and South African cricket has shared a positive, cooperative relationship for decades. Throughout all the years and encounters between the two teams, cricket has always been competitive and tough, but never hostile.”

Gavaskar further said, “I have watched almost every India-South Africa encounter, and it has always been tough, fair cricket. Nothing beyond that. Yes, it could have been an ill-advised comment – wrong time, wrong place.”

I personally don’t believe in forgiveness – Sunil Gavaskar

The Indian batsman said he is not seeking an apology from Shukri Conrad, but added that the coach should address his comments in his next media interaction. He said that people often get carried away by passion and sometimes say things that go beyond their intentions.

Gavaskar said, “I hope he addresses it in his next media interaction. I don’t think an apology is necessary; I personally don’t believe in apologies. But accepting it and making amends would be acceptable to everyone. These things happen.

He concluded, “In the heat of the moment, you can get carried away and say something that goes a little over the top. Given the strong relationship between Indian and South African cricket over the last 30 years, I think he could simply make it clear that he had got carried away to some extent.”

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