Shukri Conrad, the head coach of South Africa, confessed that his “grovel” comment made during the Guwahati Test, which was very controversial, after his team’s remarkable 2-0 Test series win against India. After the ODI series, where South Africa was defeated 2-1, Conrad expressed his remorse over the use of a term which did not go well in India and he received huge backlash. He admitted that the remark had diminished the happiness of their Test victory and mentioned that if he had known the possible interpretations of his words, he would have chosen them more carefully.
Conrad admits poor word choice
“On reflection, it was never my intention to cause any malice or be anything other than humble,” Conrad said. “Could I have been smarter with the word I used? Absolutely. It left space for people to attach their own context, when all I meant was that India should have to work really hard.”
The coach recognised that the uproar over the matter shifted focus from the players’ success to him and put him at the very core of a story that he never wished to be the main character of.
“Being humble is a cornerstone of our Test team and all our teams, really. People shouldn’t even know who the coach is it should always be about the players. Unfortunately, the noise became about me.”
Conrad added that he would exercise far more caution with language in the future, aware now of how swiftly context can shift in the public domain.
“I’m going to be careful with what I say because any word can be pulled into a different frame. It’s a pity it spiralled the way it did, but there was definitely no malice intended.”
Conrad reflects on ODI defeat
In admitting that South Africa had let a rare chance to conquer India in both formats at their home ground slip away during the ODI series loss, Conrad was very frank about the situation. He was full of praise for the Indian senior batter – Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, whose performances lit up the field.
“Our youngsters got to see firsthand what the best in the world look like,” Conrad said. “Virat and Rohit showed the standards required, and that’s an experience we have to take forward.”
He accepted that South Africa fell short with the bat in the deciding ODI and failed to put India under pressure despite a promising start with the ball. “We needed a far more competitive total. When you’re slightly off against a team like India, they make you pay.”
