SA20: Shukri Conrad Responds To Backlash Received On Sending South Africa's 2nd String Team To New Zealand Tour

South Africa’s national team head coach Shukri Conrad responded to the backlash and criticism that Cricket South Africa faced after they decided to send a 3rd string team to their upcoming tour to New Zealand in February where they are set to play a 2-match Test series starting from the 4th of next month.

Shukri Conrad claimed that the South African cricket board will have to figure a way out to co-exist with all the franchise cricket leagues around the world, not just the SA T20. As many as 7 players are going to make their respective debuts next month while all the senior players who took part in the recently concluded test series against India on home soil, will take part in the country’s top-tier domestic T20 league.

He further claimed that the SA T20 is vital for the country’s cricket board in terms of revenues and sustainability of the board. Conrad also called out those who criticized South Africa’s decision to send a youthful squad to New Zealand and blamed CSA for disrespecting the oldest and the longest format of the game.

Former Australian captain Steve Waugh was one of the very first few people to express their disapproval of South Africa, claiming that if he was in charge of the Kiwi’s management, he would not even let the test series happen. Waugh bashed CSA for focusing solely on profits and asked the BCCI, ECB, and CA to step in and do something about the disparity by setting up a premium match fee for Test cricket.

Former Indian bowler Venkatesh Prasad too had expressed himself on X (formerly Twitter), hoping that snubbing Test cricket doesn’t go on to become a norm or a trend, while answering a fan’s question on the social media platform. South Africa after claiming the top spot of the WTC 2023-2025 last year with an innings and 32-run victory in the 1st Test against India, currently find themselves trailing by 4.16 points to India.

Shukri Conrad Responds To Steve Waugh’s “Disrespectful” Remarks

When Shukri Conrad was asked to comment on Steve Waugh’s remarks on CSA’s disrespectful gesture towards Test cricket, the 56-year-old claimed that Waugh doesn’t really care about South African cricket before stating that SA T20 has to happen for the country’s cricketing welfare. He further emphasized the fact that SA T20 or other leagues will have to find a way to gel together as it is the only way forward.

“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. 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.” – Conrad added.

“SA T20 Is Lifeblood Of CSA, But There Was Also Confusion In FTP Scheduling”, Shukri Conrad Confirms

Shukri Conrad added a very new perspective to the matter by claiming that there was some sort of confusion between the Future Tours Program schedule and CSA’s scheduling of SAT20 that led to this unfortunate clash. He also added that SA T20 serves as the lifeblood of the cricket board given the success it achieved in only its inaugural edition.

The CSA in turn has given assurances that there will be no clashes between International matches and SA T20 moving forward.

“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. Yes, there was a cock-up, or somebody got it wrong with the scheduling, and this is why we find ourselves here. It’s unfortunate but we all saw the value of the league last year.” – Shukri Conrad concluded.

Meanwhile, South Africa will take their flight to New Zealand on 19th January with the first test taking place on 4th February while the 2nd test will start from 13th February.