'I did what I believed was best for the team, never based on race' - AB de Villiers responds to Khaya Zondo's claims

Earlier this year, Khaya Zondo testified during the Social Justice and Nation Building hearings and mentioned how AB de Villiers blocked him from playing an ODI against India in 2015. According to Zondo, de Villiers, South Africa’s captain at that time, preferred Dean Elgar in the playing XI despite him not being the original squad. Zondo further stated that de Villiers was his childhood hero, and he lost all for him after this incident.

de Villiers, who had not commented anything on this matter, broke his silence on December 15 through an Instagram post. AB posted a photo of the South African flag on social media along with the following caption, “I have wholly supported the aims of Cricket South Africa’s Social Justice and Nation Building process, to ensure equal opportunities in our game. However, throughout my career, I expressed honest cricketing opinions only ever based on what I believed was best for the team, never based on anyone’s race. That’s the fact.”

Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) is a project that Cricket South Africa started in July 2021 to look after the past racial discrimination that players and officials faced. The hearings have exposed some of the darkest secrets of cricket in South Africa. Since its readmission to cricket in 1992, South Africa is believed to be a rainbow nation where discrimination is a thing of the past. However, the same can’t be said after hearing what players and other officials have said.

After Zondo was left out of the squad, a group of black cricketers wrote a letter to Cricket South Africa expressing all their concerns. These cricketers specifically mentioned that they were sidelined by the other players in the squad and are not rated to be fit enough to become a part of the playing 11.

On 15th December 2021, SJN submitted its final report, which stated that CSA discriminated against players on the basis of their race. The report mentioned the names of cricketers like Graeme Smith, Mark Boucher, and AB de Villiers. Lawson Naidoo, the board’s chairperson, the CSA is yet to finalize their action on the report.