Proteas Captains Concerned Over Possible Suspension of Cricket South Africa by ICC, Worried About Future Of Cricket In The Country

All the three captains of South Africa squads have expressed concerns over possible suspension of the country by the ICC due to the current governance crisis at Cricket South Africa (CSA). All the three proteas captains have signed a joint statement in which they said that South Africa might also not be able to participate in the forthcoming ICC T20 World Cup 2021 if they face a suspension.

Cricket South Africa is facing a big crisis due to an impasse between the Members’ Council (MC) and Interim Board (IB) of Cricket South Africa (CSA).

The issue was expected to be resolved during a recent Special General Meeting. However, the Members’ Council refused to accept the long-standing proposals for amendments to its Memorandum of Incorporation (MOI). The proposals call for a majority independent board and an independent chair.

Proteas Captains Concerned About Possible ICC Suspension

In their joint statement, the three Proteas captains said that they are concerned about the future of cricket in South South Africa at a time when they should be enthusiastic about the future.

“At a time when we should be enthusiastic about the future, we have to be concerned about the future (of the game). The Proteas Men’s team has an ICC World T20 event in November. The current state of cricket administration undermines our preparation in this regard. It may even lead to our suspension from this event should the ICC decide to suspend South Africa,” the joint statement read.

The captains also said that government intervention in the sport will lead to dire consequences, one of which can be ICC suspending Cricket South Africa.

“Government intervention in the sport will have dire consequences, and the captains feel that this may lead to the ICC suspending South Africa. The right to represent South Africa may be withdrawn and the ICC may suspend Cricket South Africa.

These outcomes will in turn impact touring, broadcast rights and sponsorship deals. Ultimately, the financial viability of the game will suffer and cricket at all levels will be severely prejudiced,” the players further said in their joint statement.

The crisis in the South Africa Cricket board has been going on for 18 months now. During the time, almost all top executives and the Board at CSA have either stepped down or were dismissed. South Africa’s Sports Minister Nathi Mthetwa has also indicated that he will step in to address the crisis in Cricket South Africa.