Ab de villiers

AB de Villiers. Photo: Getty / Gallo Images

LATEST: SJN report incriminates AB de Villiers in ‘racial discrimination’

AB de Villiers allegedly ‘discriminated against Khaya Zondo on racial grounds’ during the high-profile 2015 tour to India.

Ab de villiers

AB de Villiers. Photo: Getty / Gallo Images

On Wednesday, CSA confirmed that the report compiled by the Social Justice and Nation Building (SJN) Ombudsman, Adv Dumisa Ntsebeza, has been received and is now available on their website, with several explosive findings also implicating former Proteas captain AB de Villiers.

Other parts of the findings reveal that the Ombudsman believe the appointments of director of cricket Graeme Smith and coach Mark Boucher were “flawed from a procedural perspective”.

The finding related to De Villiers referred to a controversial incident that took place in India in 2015 when Dolphins batsman Zondo was ultimately omitted from the playing XI despite being picked to play by Proteas selectors for the fifth ODI decider.

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In the end, David Miller retained his position, while Dean Elgar was flown to India from South Africa and immediately earned a starting slot.

Mr Zondo was a victim of the exclusionary culture which persists within the cricket ecosystem,” the SJN report said.

Mr De Villiers was willing to flout the NSP (selection) policy just to ensure that a black player was not placed in a position which he deemed as requiring greater experience.

It is then puzzling that the preferred choice is a white player who does not specialise in the position that was open and had no experience in the ODI series, at the time.

The only reasonable conclusion is that Mr De Villiers unfairly discriminated against Mr Zondo on racial grounds.

His actions were arbitrary and irrational as there was no justifiable purpose for Mr Zondo’s replacement. His conduct was motivated by underlying unsubstantiated bias with respect to competence of black players.”

De Villiers raised his concerns about Zondo’s selection with then-Cricket South Africa CEO Haroon Lorgat

Approaching Lorgat was an act De Villiers admitted to the SJN hearings was an “error”.

“It appears that Mr De Villiers went to extreme lengths to ensure that a white player is secured participation in what he regarded as a critical game for the Proteas,” the SJN report continued.

“Racial discrimination continues to plague our society under the guise of merit justifications. Black people are denied opportunities because of unscrutinised misconceptions regarding their competence as compared to their white counterparts.

“Mr De Villiers’ conduct evidences this erroneous and baseless misconception of Mr Zondo as a black player.

“One may go as far as to state that he feared to place a person whom he viewed as incompetent, by virtue of the person being a black player, in what he regarded as a prized match.”

Written statement to the SJN on the Khaya Zondo matter:

Before the 2015 tour to India, I was informed that Khaya Zondo would be added to the 15-man playing squad as a 16th man. I was told by the selectors that Khaya was joining the tour simply so he could gain experience and ‘see how the system works’, and specifically that he was not part of the actual playing group,” De Villiers recalled.

JP Duminy and Rilee Rossouw were injured during the ODI series against India, which meant we needed to call up a top-order batsman as a replacement. My understanding was that the next players in line were Dean Elgar and Farhaan Behardien.

I was therefore surprised to be informed by the selectors that Khaya was going to be included in the XI for the fifth and deciding ODI in Mumbai. He would be making his debut in what was a decisive match, when we had the opportunity to become the first South African to win a One Day International series in India.

My concerns were based entirely and unequivocally on cricketing considerations. I felt we should adhere to the previously agreed position that the next players in line for selection were Elgar and Behardien and that it was wrong to parachute into the starting side and inexperienced and emerging player, who, as selectors had clearly stated, was not intended to be a member of the playing squad.

With hindsight, I should have outlined these concerns to Linda Zondi, the convenor of selectors, but he was at home in South Africa. Instead, I expressed my views to the CEO of Cricket South Africa, who was in Mumbai. This was an error. I did not mean to bypass the convenor, and I have apologised for any offence caused.