IND vs SA: "Could've chosen a better word.." SA coach Shukri Conrad regrets using 'grovel' term for Indian team

Shukri Conrad’s words stirred up a storm ahead of the three-match ODI series between India and South Africa.

Just a few days after South African coach Shukri Conrad said he wanted India to “grovel,” he confirmed his true intentions and said he regretted using those words to express a completely different feeling.

Nonetheless, he recognized that the remark provided some spice to the India-South Africa match. Following South Africa’s good performance in the two Tests, their coach’s strong words directed at the Indian camp cast him in a poor light in the cricketing world. But after the ODI loss, Conrad chose to explain what he genuinely meant, but he did not apologize.

After the ODI series thrashing—though not a complete whitewash—South Africa’s coach Shukri Conrad eventually decided to clarify his earlier choice of words, when he said they intended to grovel before the Indians.

The word “grovel” is considered extremely derogatory and is associated with harsh concepts such as “slavery” and “racism.” The epithet has been associated with merciless intimidation in cricket since England captain Tony Greig used it against the West Indies in 1976.

“I could have chosen a better word”- Shukri Conrad

That comment famously sparked the creation of the West Indies’ frightening pace attack, which would go on to become one of the sport’s most powerful fast bowling teams.

“On reflection, it was never my intention to cause any malice or not be humble about anything. I could have chosen a better word because it left it open for people to put their own context to it. The only context I ever intended it to be was that we wanted India to spend a lot of time in the field and make it really tough for them. I’ve got to be careful what word I use here now because context could be attached to that as well,” Conrad said after South Africa’s 2-1 ODI series loss in Visakhapatnam.

Conrad has become a popular, funny personality who does not mince words after nearly three years as Test coach and nearly six months as all-format coach.

Notably, he pushed his squad to “show-off more” a few months ago when they delivered outstanding performances on the global stage, but his ideology is focused on the reverse, expecting humility from everyone, including himself.

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