'His decision will only create a further divide' - Salman Butt shocked over Quinton de Kock's refusal to take a knee

Former Pakistan opener Salman Butt has expressed his shock over Quinton de Kock’s decision to pull out of the West Indies fixture over Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) directive of taking a knee in support of the Black Lives Matters campaign. De Kock cited personal reasons for not participating in his team’s fixture on October 26 before they were found to be his stance on the anti-racist gesture.

“What he did was really strange. Everyone is taking part in the Black Lives Matter (BLM) moment, which basically says that all humans are equal and no one should consider themselves superior on the basis of race or color,” Butt said on his YouTube channel. “It was decided for everyone (by Cricket South Africa) that players should take a knee. His decision will not unite people but will only create a further divide. I really don’t know why he did this.”

Butt further reckoned that the current ideas inside the team are in stark contrast of those propagated by Nelson Mandela. “He (De Kock) lives in a country where people from both races are in abundance. This is certainly not the South Africa of Nelson Mandela. When things in South Africa improved and they merged themselves back with the rest of the world, he united people. Things have been spoiled. Everyone is doing it and the message is simple that everyone is equal,” Butt added.

The former opener highlighted further that having those many differences of thoughts and ideologies inside a team is not ideal. “Their team is running on quota system. In their first match as well, there was an image where some from the team were sitting and some were standing. They definitely look unsettled. Their opinions, beliefs or cultural differences should not be on display so much. They are here to play cricket.”

South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma, too, revealed that the team was “surprised and taken aback” by de Kock’s decision but added that it needs to be respected.

“Obviously Quinton is a big player for the team, not just with the bat, but the role he plays from a senior point of view and from an experience point of view, and not having that at my disposal as a captain was obviously something I wasn’t looking forward to. In saying that, Quinton is an adult. He’s a man in his own shoes. We respect his decision. We respect his convictions. I know that he’ll be standing behind whatever decision that he’s taken,” Bavuma said during a virtual presser after South Africa’s victory over West Indies.