'We support our coach in these tough times' - Dean Elgar offers support to Mark Boucher amid disciplinary row

South Africa’s Test skipper Dean Elgar has come out in support of head coach Mark Boucher, who has been charged with gross misconduct. Boucher has come under the scanner for allegedly making racist comments on his former teammate Paul Adams during their playing days. Cricket South Africa (CSA) charged Boucher for his racial slur ‘brown s***’, which Adams revealed during the Social Justice and Nation-building hearings last year.

This saga has also brought Boucher’s job under the scanner. In fact, Cricket South Africa (CSA) has stated that the allegations against Mark Boucher are “serious” in nature, and might even result in the termination of his tenure. This case will come for hearing in May this year. For the time being, Boucher will continue to serve the national team.

Meanwhile, the former wicketkeeper-batter has received support from Elgar, who said Boucher adds a lot to the team. The southpaw also backed his head coach to come out of this tough situation.

We know the value he adds to our system: Mark Boucher

“Irrespective of what our head coach is going through, we still support him through this process. We know the value he adds to our system and our group. We’ve had these tough times before, and I’d like to think it’s just another hurdle in our path that we have to get over,” Elgar was quoted as saying by News24.

The left-handed opener further said that his team needs to stick together as a unit for the upcoming Test series in New Zealand. “We’ve got over them and as players; we realise that cricket remains cricket. We need to stick together, and that’s something we’ve done in the past while letting the process follow its course,” said Elgar further.

“We’re going to New Zealand to play cricket, win matches, and win series, and that’s how I view it. In the same breath, we’re still supporting our head coach,” he added. Meanwhile, South Africa had a memorable home series against India last month despite the controversy. After being 0-1 down, the Proteas side bounced back and clinched the series 2-1. The subsequent ODI series saw the hosts walking away with a 3-0 whitewash.