Fight racism together, no ridiculous controversies please!

It is very unfortunate that the lively ICC Men’s World Cup T20-2021 is plagued by largely unnecessary controversy. Has any team in international tournaments ever objected to singing their national anthem or has any team objected to their rivals singing their national anthems? Definitely not, it is being a custom celebrated in almost all tournaments of this type in various sports fields. Therefore, the ‘personal choice’ syndrome never arises here. So why does this syndrome have to arise in ‘getting on one knee’ for such a noble cause? In our school days, our teachers ordered us to kneel on countless occasions, obviously to correct our faults, which is why today we are better human beings. Do we even think of exercising our democratic option on those occasions? The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, started in 2013 “as a decentralized political and social movement protesting against incidents of police brutality and all racial violence against blacks” around the world, is fully justified. The movement had its ups and downs, but after the brutal police killing of a black protester, George Floyd, in the US in 2020, it gained international prominence, and former West Indian cricketer Michael Holding strove hard to incorporate it. . The Cricket Arena – Unfortunately, this gentleman’s game had seen the ugly expressions of racism on quite a few occasions in international cricket, not only involving black people, but so-called ‘coloured’ players as well.

We have seen in most of the matches played so far in this World Cup, teams kneeling before kick-off to express their solidarity against the evil of racism. The ICC had not issued any official directive for this gesture, but made it voluntary for teams. Cricket South Africa (CSA), the country that was boycotted by the international community for years for its notorious Apartheid policy, has been exemplary in making the obligatory gesture for its team before kick-off. So, what is wrong with following this noble gesture and how does the question of personal choice enter into such relevant issues at an international level? The India team also took the gesture as per instructions on their cricket board, and England also voiced the gesture in their match against the West Indies like most other teams.

The noble gesture was also made during South Africa’s title game against Australia; of course, without involving all the players. But suddenly and more significantly, as the fixture was against the West Indies, South Africa’s key opener and goalkeeper Quinton de Kock made it an issue, calling out his refusal to bend the knee for personal reasons. He not only refused to make the gesture, but he also withdrew from the match in the last few minutes which was confirmed by the CSA. This is extremely disturbing, because de Kock has also been a key cricketer in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for years, playing for the Mumbai Indians (the franchise may release him soon due to shock) which included a large number of blacks. and ‘players of color; in fact, India is a country of people of color only. So why was de Kock never opposed to continually playing with them, as an integral member of the team? If his ‘personal choice’ is not to support the BLM movement, then either he reeks of racism, or else de Kock is perhaps a staunch supporter of the ‘white supremacist’ theory so optimistically advanced by the former US president. .,Donald Trump. We condemn his World Cup action, which may ultimately have an adverse impact on his entire cricketing career, and South Africa would obviously never want to lose such an important player. The CSA has to deliver the final verdict on Quinton de Kock’s future, even as some media reports suggest the player has pulled out of the entire tournament, while others fear this may be the last time we see de Kock in field.

We look forward to an amicable solution for all parties concerned by upholding the noble cause, respecting the ideals and movement of Nelson Mandela and proper punishment for anyone found guilty of being a racist. The ICC, in fact, should take this opportunity to make the ‘kneeling’ gesture mandatory for all participating teams. The Council rightly prohibits any kind of political or religious gesture, but in the defense of this noble cause there can be no hesitation or the principles of democratic elections.

In the match against the struggling West Indies, where controversy had erupted, South Africa won easily, without de Kock. Elsewhere, Afghanistan in Group 2 recorded a big win over qualifying Group B leaders Scotland, even bigger than Pakistan’s over India. Pakistan continue their thrilling winning streak by defeating New Zealand, although they had to fight back to chase a low target of 135 runs. England in Group 1 have also kept up their ominous demolition act by defeating Bangladesh. Both Pakistan and England are apparently enjoying their luck in terms of slow bowling behavior and the subsequent spray factor for the bowling side. After making history by reaching the Super-12 stage for the first time, defeating a well-placed Ireland side, Namibia won their first World Cup game against Scotland relatively comfortably in Group 2.