DUBAI: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said star team-mate Quinton de Kock’s refusal to take the knee came as a surprise on what turned out to be one of his ‘toughest days’ as skipper.

De Kock pulled out of the match after Cricket South Africa ordered its players to lend support to the anti-racism movement in Dubai.

But the former captain chose to opt out of the match.

“We were obviously surprised and taken aback by the news,” Bavuma told reporters.

“Quin-ton is a big player for the team, not just with the bat, but the role he plays from a senior point of view and not having that at my disposal as a captain was obviously something I wasn’t looking forward to.”

Also read: South Africa's De Kock withdraws from crucial World T20 match as players ordered to take knee

Bavuma, who is the first coloured captain of South Africa after replacing de Kock in the white-ball format, revealed that he came to know of de Kock’s decision in the bus ride to Dubai.

“The instruction from the board [to take the knee] came in this morning. A meeting was convened between a couple of members, and that’s where that message was passed on to us,” said Bavuma. “I think the trip was about an hour and a half to two hours. In that trip I guess that’s where Quinton made his decision. We found out — I found out as the captain when we got to the changing room.”

He added: “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.

De Kock had previously refused to take part in the anti-racism gesture that has become a regular feature in most sporting events.

Published in Dawn, October 27th, 2021