Former South Africa captain AB de Villiers is not surprised that ahead of T20 World Cup 2024, the conversation back home is about the racial quota in the team. De Villiers is happy that he is not anywhere related to the selection process considering the backlash.
"...it's a shame going into a tournament to have the focus on that. I mean it's nothing new, it's just a shame," said the 40-year-old in an interaction with PTI arranged by ‘Jio Cinema’. "Luckily this time around, I've had nothing to do with anything over there. I'm just a spectator."
As per the policy introduced in 2016, six players of colour are required to be in the playing XI of the Proteas including two players from black African community.
The outrage is a result of just one black player being a part of South Africa's T20 World Cup squad. Kagiso Rabada is the only black African in the squad. The only other black-African in the contingent is Lungi Ngidi who is a part of the travelling reserves.
In the current squad, In the current squad, apart from Rabada, the other players of colour are Reeza Hendricks, Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi and Ottniel Baartman.
"There are controversial moments back home as per usual with the South African squad just before a World Cup," de Villiers said.
"I think it's a good team. It's a shame about Lungi... (he) lost a bit of form, had a couple of injuries. Otherwise, he most probably would have been in the squad and there wouldn't have been any controversial stuff back home," he added.
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The T20 World Cup squad was picked by head coaches Shukri Conrad (Tests) and Rob Walter (white-ball cricket).
"Sometimes these things happen and it puts you under a bit of pressure as a selection panel and as a coach and a captain," de Villiers said.
"From what I remember is with the quota system, it's an average team, an average number over the season and they don't really look at every series, but as journalists sometimes enjoy steaming up things a bit," he added.
Earlier this month, former Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula and former Cricket South Africa (CSA) and ICC president Ray Mali had expressed their disappointment on lack of black African player in the squad.
"Only one African player selected in the Proteas Team for the upcoming T20 World Cup 2024 Team. Definitely a reserval (reversal) of the gains of transformation and doesn’t reflect fair representation of all South Africans in the national cricket tea,” Mbalula wrote on X.
Mali said that it is a backward step.
"I believe a lot has been achieved, but I believe we have gone backwards in terms of cricket - we have taken a step backwards instead of going forward," said Mali on SABC Sport.
De Villiers doesn’t see anything fishy in the selection process and pointed out that it was never easy considering the number of injuries and players’ form of late.
"Maybe they are short. Maybe they are well within their right to do whatever they were needed to do in this World Cup.
"Keeping in mind there were a couple of injuries, a couple of out of form players. It's never easy," he said.
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