Durban: Former South Africa fast bowler Lonwabo Tsotsobe said former captain Graeme Smith had threatened to retire if Thami Tsolekile was selected as wicketkeeper in the national squad. Tsotsobe said that Tsolekile’s selection was blocked by Smith so as to stop a black player coming into the fold and AB de Villiers was then made wicketkeeper.Tsolekile was destined to replace Boucher, but suddenly AB de Villiers was made the keeper. Wicketkeeper is a specialist position that needed a specialist, which de Villiers is not, said Tsotsobe in a seven-page document he submitted to Cricket South Africa (CSA) in which he described his experiences with racism within the country’s cricket structure, according to South Africa’s Sunday Times.
The idea of assigning keeping duties to de Villiers was to block the selection of a black player in the fold of Tsolekile. This was confirmed by Smith who categorically stated that if Tsolekile was selected he would retire with immediate effect, alleges Tsotsobe, who played nine Tests, 94 ODIs and 18 T20Is between 2009 and 2014.
Smith, who is currently CSA’s director of cricket, captained South Africa for 11 years between 2003 and 2014.