Image Credit- PTI
South Africa red-ball coach Shukri Conrad has come out
and endorsed Cricket South Africa’s stance of prioritizing the SA20 over Test
Cricket, saying that he and the players have realized the importance of the
league in South African cricket as a whole.
South Africa has come under a lot of criticism after
they announced a squad that had 7 uncapped players for their upcoming test
series vs New Zealand, with former players voicing their displeasure over this
move and the likes of Cricket Australia making their opinions known on where
they stand on this matter, with the general concensus being that the Proteas
are blatantly disrespecting the game as well as Test Cricket.
Conrad, however, demanded a more nuanced perspective
and said that he and the players agree that the SA20 is essential to ensuring
the game’s financial viability in South Africa.
Asked to respond to Steve Waugh’s Instagram post on
the South African squad, which questioned if it was a defining moment for Test
cricket, Conrad did not hold back. “I don’t think Steve Waugh is going to
really care what I say but I love how everybody outside South Africa have
become experts on South African cricket,” he said. “Our hand has been
forced. Everybody understands the SA20 has to happen. SA20 has to happen
because it is the lifeblood of South African cricket. If it doesn’t happen, we
are not going to have Test cricket anyway. We’ve got to find a way to coexist
with the league, we’ve got to co-exist with leagues around the world to ensure
the sustainability of the game.”
Although the FTP has a three-Test, three-ODI, and
three-T20 visit from England scheduled for the 2026–2027 season, part of it
will need to be played in January, CSA has also guaranteed that there will
“not be any further clashes between our bilateral commitments and the
SA20”.
South Africa have only played two matches in the
current WTC and have 12 points. They will only play two-Test series for the
duration of this cycle.