'This was the right fit for me and for us going forward' - Shukri Conrad opens up on Dean Elgar's captaincy snub

South Africa's new head coach Shukri Conrad has come down hard on critics who went after former South Africa Test skipper Dean Elgar after he was snubbed from the captaincy in the longest format. The captaincy role was handed over to his fellow teammate Temba Bavuma, who has now become South Africa's all-format skipper.

Dean Elgar's captaincy snub came after South Africa's back-to-back failures in Test cricket, especially after their disappointing tour in Australia, which jeopardised their chances of strengthening their position for a finals berth in the World Test Championship.

“Dean’s done an exceptional job over the last couple of years, and in my conversation with him that’s something I made clear,” Shukri Conrad was quoted as saying by The South African.

Conrad stated that Dean had been phenomenal in his leadership with South africa, and under his tenure the team witnessed and experienced some great victories. He also urged the media to stop unneccessarily creating a hullabaloo over the management's decision.

He went on to add that the decision to hand over the captaincy to Temba Bavuma was solely of the South African management, and everyone should be considerate enough to maintain its sanctity at all costs. He stated that he shared a positive vibe with Bavuma, but that never meant that Elgar was being completely written off.

Elgar by all means and in every manner would be an active part of the decision making body and also contribute in the leadership genre to help Bavuma in his work.

“But this was my decision. I felt Temba and I were a good fit, and Dean’s still going to play a huge part in our leadership group. This doesn’t make Dean a poor captain and Temba a good captain. But I felt this was the right fit for me and for us going forward. We’ve come a long way, Temba and I. He knows how I want to do things, and I’ve got a good understanding of how he wants to be involved and run things," Conrad added.

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