 "Parthiv Patel feels South Africa coach Shukri Conrad knew what he was doing when he used the word ‘grovel’ against India. Images: Star Sports/Reuters")
Parthiv Patel has said that South Africa coach Shukri Conrad was well aware of the racial undertones the term “grovel” carries, but still chose to use it against India in his press conference on Tuesday. While explaining the delay in the declaration by South Africa on Day 4 of the second Test, coach Conrad said that he wanted India to “really grovel” and bat them out of the match.
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Conrad’s comments have now sparked a massive controversy, with many Indian cricket experts and fans feeling that it was a racial reference by the Proteas coach. While groveling isn’t always linked with racism, it means subservience and submission as per the Merriam-Webster dictionary.
It became controversial in the cricketing world ever since South African-born England captain Tony Greig used it for the West Indies team in 1976. West Indies players later spoke about how using a term like “grovel” was wrong against Black players, given the history of slavery.
Parthiv Patel demands apology from Shukri Conrad
Now, former Indian cricketer Parthiv Patel has criticised Conrad for using the word “grovel” against India. He expects an apology from Conrad and added that such “things” should be kept away from cricket.
“Maybe the South African coach does not know the weightage of the word. But I don’t think so. There was a smirk on his face when he said it. There is no doubt that it was disrespectful. As the Indian team all you do is tell them that ‘You’ve come to this situation by playing well. Well done to you. But there was no need to use such words’,” Patel told Star Sports before the start of Day 5 on Wednesday.
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View All“I think through the day we will see an apology from Conrad. I don’t think such things are needed on the cricketing field. You can fight, play hard, but such things are not needed,”