BBL clubs ready to sign Quinton de Kock amid BLM storm at T20 World Cup
While Quinton de Kock’s refusal to take a knee at the T20 World Cup is set to cost him an IPL contract, the South African star could secure a deal with a BBL club.
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South African superstar Quinton de Kock is facing a $500,000 banishment by the IPL over his refusal to take a knee, but the Australian Big Bash League could become his salvation.
Within hours of his bombshell decision to walk out on the T20 World Cup, South African sources have confirmed that de Kock’s management had already been sounded out by at least one interested BBL club amid a growing expectation he may have played his last game for his country.
The emergence of Australian cricket as a lifeline for the 28-year-old has become even more significant as sources at the IPL revealed de Kock’s Mumbai Indians franchise had taken a dim view of him turning his back on the Black Lives Matter protest and were highly unlikely to retain him on his lucrative contract worth in excess of $500,000.
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De Kock’s stunning walk out on teammates came in direct response to the Cricket South Africa board making it compulsory for players to take a knee before matches in support of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Cricket Australia has taken the opposite approach to Cricket South Africa – albeit in a less politically charged environment – and have tried to provide a safe space for players to make their own individual choices on whether to take a knee.
The Melbourne Stars last summer supported the decision by some players to not take a knee, even though the rest of the team did, while the Sydney Sixers women decided to not take a knee while the men’s team did.
Cricket Victoria boss Nick Cummins said protests should not be made compulsory and declared de Kock would be of huge interest to BBL clubs looking to land a marquee signing.
“We encourage our players to think about the issues and express their views as they see appropriate,” Cummins told News Corp.
“We would certainly be interested in a player of his calibre to come to the BBL. It would be great for the competition.”
Former Cricket Australia chief and world cricket boss Malcolm Speed said South Africa’s mandate was “a step too far” and questioned whether it would hold up in court.
Leading commentator and former Zimbabwean international Pommie Mbangwa said he couldn’t take de Kock’s stance as anything but anti-BLM.
De Kock has been disillusioned with South African international cricket for 18 months and has been looking for a way out.
The prevailing view is there is no way back for him now in the South African team after abandoning his teammates just hours before a World Cup match against the West Indies in direct protest to an edict by the CSA board.
On June 12, de Kock explained his reason for refusing to take the knee.
“My reason? I’ll keep it to myself. It’s my own, personal opinion,” he said. “It’s everyone’s decision, no one’s forced to do anything, not in life. That’s the way I see things.”
White South African players have received death threats and had property vandalised for taking a knee, and it’s this pressure from families and communities which has in some cases prompted decisions to refrain from the protest.
De Kock’s stand has polarised opinion across the world. He has been labelled racist in some quarters but in others has had his right to free speech defended.
Most expect him to now become a Twenty20 mercenary, although those hopes would be dealt a major blow if his actions led Mumbai and other franchises to freeze him out of his No.1 meal ticket at the IPL.
Indian players are all taking a knee at this World Cup.
It’s understood de Kock’s management is open to interest from the BBL, with his destructive batting at the top of the order and expert wicketkeeping making him one of the more sought after players in world cricket.
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Originally published as BBL clubs ready to sign Quinton de Kock amid BLM storm at T20 World Cup
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