Quinton de Kock makes himself unavailable for selection for WI game after CSA directive on taking the knee

Dubai, October 26: South Africa star batsman Quinton de Kock surprised all with his decision to make himself unavailable for selection against West Indies on Tuesday (October 26) here at Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

Protea captain Temba Bavuma revealed at the toss that the wicketkeeper-batsman has kept himself out from selection in the playing eleven citing personal reasons. Opener Reeza Hendricks has replaced the left-handed batsman, the only change in South Africa's XI.

"Quinny is out and Reeza is in. He (de Kock) has made himself unavailable for personal reasons," Bavuma said after winning the toss and electing to field. Both South Africa and West Indies are coming back from defeats in their opening game and would be looking to come to winning terms.

Later, it came to light that De Kock withdrew in the wake of CSA's board saying they had "unanimously agreed to issue a directive" that all players should take a knee before matches.

De Kock - who in the past refused to take a knee during a Test series in West Indies - was apparently not in sync with the CSA's directive, which came just hours before the start of the game.

The board's directive hasn't gone down well with a few players and de Kock being one of those players not agreeing. The CSA on Monday (October 25) evening unanimously agreed to issue a directive requiring all Proteas players to adopt a consistent and united stance against racism by "taking the knee" prior to the start of their remaining World Cup matches.

Concerns were raised that the different postures taken by team members in support of the BLM initiative created an unintended perception of disparity or lack of support for the initiative.

After considering all relevant issues, including the position of the players, the Board felt that it was imperative for the team to be seen taking a united and consistent stand against racism, especially given SA's history.

Several other teams at the World Cup have adopted a consistent stance against the issue, and the Board felt it is time for all SA players to do the same.

"Taking the knee" is the global gesture against racism adopted by sportspeople across sporting codes because they recognise the power sport has to bring people together.

After winning the toss, SA captain Bavuma said, "I think just having a look at the wicket, it has been challenging for us to know what a good score is, so we want to have a look. We take out a lot (from the series win against West Indies), all the positives and all the negatives. We know what a power-packed side they are, looking at our performances we know where we can cool them down. (Area of focus) Probably the batting. I think that would be the one I would highlight and like to show a better batting display."

De Kock's sudden decision to give this match a miss stunned the experts and commentators. Former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson claimed there must be some 'internal issues'.

"Huge shock. There must be something going on internally," Watson said on Star Sports.

Meanwhile, former West Indies captain Brian Lara said the southpaw's absence will give Kieron Pollard's side an edge.

"It's gonna big advantage West Indies now that de Kock is not playing," Lara said.

For West Indies, Obed McCoy misses out and Hayden Walsh made his entry in the playing eleven. South Africa were handed a five-wicket defeat by Australia, West Indies sank to a six-wicket loss against England.

Playing XI:

South Africa: Temba Bavuma(c), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen(wk), David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi.

West Indies: Kieron Pollard(c), Lendl Simmons, Evin Lewis, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran(wk), Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Akeal Hosein, Hayden Walsh, Ravi Rampaul.