South African Wicket- Keeper batsman, Quinton De Kock who was previously in the news for his decision to not take the knee in the game against the West Indies has issued an apology. Quinton De Kock had made himself unavailable for the game against the West Indies citing personal reasons. The South African cricket board before the match had decided for their players to take a knee before every match. This decision was taken as a cumulative decision by all the cricketing boards and South Africa too decided to abide by it. Here is a look at the developments: –
Quinton De Kock Apologizes for not Taking a Knee: –
The South African Cricket Board on 28th October at noon issued the official statement given by Quinton De Kock for not taking the knee. The statement included a full-fledged apology from the left-handed opening batsman. In this statement, Quinton De Kock apologized to the fans saying, “I would like to start by saying sorry to my teammates and my fans back home. I never wanted to make this a Quinton issue. I understand the importance of standing against racism, and I also understand the responsibility of us players to set an example.”
He further added that he would be more than happy to take the knee to educate others about racism. The statement went like this, “If me taking the knee helps to educate others and makes other’s life better, I am more than happy to do so. I did not in any way intend to disrespect anyone by not playing against the West Indies especially against the West Indian Team themselves.”
He also went on to address the fact that the information of taking the knee was given to the South African Team members just on the morning of the match. And hence it took time to process for Quinton.
Quinton De Kock Apologizes to team members: –
QDK as he is better known by his teammates also addressed and cleared the air with his teammates. He said, “We had camped. We had sessions. We had zoom meetings. The team all knew where we stood. And that is together. I love every one of my teammates and I love nothing more than playing cricket for my country, South Africa.”
“I think it would be better if we had this sorted before the World Cup started. Then we could have focused on our job, to win cricket matches for our country.”, Quinton De Kock added. In the end, QDK also addressed the support system provided to him by his captain and teammates. “I just want to thank my teammates for their support, especially my captain, Temba. People might not recognize but he is a flipping amazing captain.”
