Cricket South Africa criticised for failure in meeting transformation targets during T20 WC squad selection

Johannesburg [South Africa], May 14 (ANI): South African ICC T20 World Cup has failed to meet the transformation targets, resulting in the board admitting that "various initiatives that have been pursued over the years have not yielded the desired results, especially in terms of producing Black African cricketers at the highest levels".
But this will not lead to any sort of interference in selection, as per a board spokesperson, as per ESPNCricinfo.
The 15-player provisional squad for the 2024 edition of the tournament, consists of six players of colour out of which just one, pacer Kagiso Rabada, is a black African. The current targets of CSA needs the national side to field over the course of the season, six players of colour in playing XI out of which two must be black Africans.
CSA will have a chance to improve on this average during the 2024-25 summer season. But even if Reeza Hendricks, Bjorn Fortuin, Keshav Maharaj, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rabada and Ottniel Baartman play all games in the T20 WC, South Africa will be missing the target of two black African players in the tournament.
Speaking on the national broadcaster SABC, the former CSA and International Cricket Council (ICC) president criticised the sport for going "backwards" and "betraying the people who asked us to negotiate unity". Also, the former sports minister of South Africa, Fikile Mbalula, the secretary general of the ruling African National Congress, called it a "reversal of the gains of transformation".
Mali was also very severe in his assessment of how the selection of squad is done and said that "system of giving a team for one person to select is not going to work in a country like ours", advocating for the return of the selection panel.
South Africa does not have a committee of selectors currently, with the decision-making in hands of head coaches: Shukri Conrad (in Tests) and Rob Walter (white-ball cricket). Both coaches make final decisions in selection with consultations from director of cricket, Enoch Nkwe. Despite this, South Africa has missed the targets recently as not a lot of top black cricketing talent is available for selection.
White-ball head coach Walter was questioned over the squad composition during its announcement last month and he said at that time that his "number one imperative is to create a winning team".
He also put the blame on the domestic cricket system for not being able to generate enough depth for the selection of a diverse squad.
"The system needs to really up the ante so that in six months, 12 months, or two years' time, and in particular when we reach the 2027 [ODI] World Cup at home, that the demographics and the representation in our team starts to look a bit different," he had said.
CSA has agreed with Walter and admitted that there is a lack of black African talent at the highest level of the game and has expressed commitment to an acceleration programme, to be used in unearthing and developing players.
Nkwe, "presented to the Board plans for the acceleration of Black African batting talent and a plan to ensure a more representative group of players ahead of the 2027 ODI World Cup on home soil," a board representative said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
"The Board endorsed these plans," the board representative added.
South African squad for T20 WC does not feature any black batters and had another black player that could have been added to the main squad, Lungi Ngidi. However, Ngidi is travelling as a reserves player with Anrich Norje taking his slot in the main squad because of his "raw pace", as said by Walter.
Nortje returned from a nine-month injury layoff in the ongoing Indian Premier League (IPL). Playing for Delhi Capitals, Nortje has taken seven wickets in six games with a poor economy rate of 13.36 runs per over. Ngidi missed the IPL due to a hamstring injury, but played in the CSA T20 Challenge across March-April, representing the Titans. He took eight wickets in eight games at an economy rate of 8.30 runs per over.
CSA board has not insisted on Ngidi's selection in the final 15-player squad and will not be influencing Walter's choice of the final playing XI. Most notably, during the 2015 Cricket World Cup, the then-CSA CEO Haroon Lorgat reminded then head coach Russell Domingo to select the playing XI for the semifinal game against New Zealand with transformation targets in mind. At that time, CSA did not have a black African quota in place, but were supposed to field at least four players of colour. South Africa had started the tournament by fielding five players of colour but due to injuries and other factors, it dipped to three. For the semifinal, a black African player Vernon Philander was selected for the match against the Kiwis ahead of Kyle Abbott.
South Africa squad for T20 WC: Aiden Markram (c), Ottniel Baartman, Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs.
Travelling reserves: Nandre Burger and Lungi Ngidi. (ANI)