T20 World Cup: Quinton de Kock issues apology over not taking knee in West Indies clash

Quinton de Kock's refusal to take a knee and also pull out of the South Africa vs West Indies T20 World Cup match attracted a lot of attention with cricketers giving their opinion regarding the same.  All the players had been directed by the national cricket governing body on Monday, October 25, to ‘take the knee’, in a display of their united stand against racism. Cricket South Africa (CSA) in its statement said that not taking a knee in support of Black Lives Matter (BLM movement) was de Kock's personal stand. The wicketkeeper-batsman has now issued a statement and apologised for his actions.

The BLM movement was started worldwide following the killing of George Floyd in America. Following the death of Floyd, teams across various sports have been seen taking the knee ahead of their matches. Recently, The Indian cricket team players also took a knee, during their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 match against Pakistan.

Quinton de Kock apologises 

The statement from Quinton de Kock was released by CSA on Thursday on their social which read "If me taking a knee helps to educate others, and makes the lives of others better, I am more than happy to do so. I chose to keep my thoughts to myself and thought of the price of playing for my family and the country".

He further added, "I know I'm not great with words, but I've tried my best to explain how truly sorry I am for making like this is about me. It is not. I just want to thank my teammates for their support, especially my captain, Temba Bavuma. People might not recognise, but he is a flipping amazing leader. If he and the team, and South Africa, will have me, I would love nothing more than to play cricket for my country again."

CSA thanks players for uniting against racism

Cricket South Africa during the South Africa vs West Indies match had issued a statement, where it explained their decision to take the knee. The statement said that after considering all aspects like freedom of choice of players, CSA had elucidated to the team that they would have to take the knee as a stand against racism. The Proteas team has found itself amidst various racism-related issues and the board explained its view by saying that they support individuals’ views on the expression of thoughts in daily lives, these rules do not apply when it comes to taking a stand against racism. CSA concluded the statement by thanking the players for agreeing to come together and take the much necessary stand against racism.