"It was an ill-advised use of the word'- Sunil Gavaskar reacts on South African coach Shukri Conrad's 'grovel' remark

Sunil Gavaskar pointed out how India helped South Africa stage comeback in international cricket.

The South African team scripted history as they dominated India in their own home conditions, winning the test series 2-0. The Proteas inflicted a whitewash, second for India at home in the last twelve months. South Africa’s heroics garnered praise from all around, Indians and South Africans alike.

However, a post-match press conference remark from South Africa’s head coach, Shukri Conrad, shifted the focus away from South Africa’s historic achievement. Shukri, when asked about why South Africa did not declare the second innings earlier, said;

“We didn’t want to declare too early… obviously 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.”

The ‘grovel’ term, which has racial undertones, was infamously used by England’s former captain, Tony Greig, in the 1970s against the West Indies.

Sunil Gavaskar expresses reservations about Conrad’s statement

“When you consider the current landscape of South African cricket, especially the SA20, five out of the six franchises (all six) 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,” said Gavaskar, highlighting the co-operation between India and South Africa on the cricket field.

The former India captain also reminded coach Shukri about India’s role in South Africa’s re-admission into international cricket after the isolation due to apartheid.

“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.”

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India and South Africa have never been hostile – Sunil Gavaskar

Sunil Gavaskar claimed that Shukri Conrad’s comment was ‘ill-advised’ and did not fit the occasion. He further said India and South Africa have had phenomenal collaboration over the years, and such statements do no favour to the relationship between the two countries.

“Indian and South African cricket have shared a positive, collaborative relationship for decades. Across all the years and encounters between the two teams, cricket has always been competitive and tough, but never hostile. I have witnessed nearly every India-South Africa contest, and it has always been hard, fair cricket. Nothing beyond that. So yes, it may have been an ill-advised remark – wrong time, wrong place. I hope that in his next media interaction, he addresses it,” added Gavaskar.

Not asking for an apology, but Sunil Gavaskar did not shy away from instructing the South African coach to clarify his stance.

“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,” concluded Gavaskar.

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