New quota for Proteas?

Cape Town - Cricket South Africa CEO Haroon Lorgat has not ruled out the possibility of increasing the number of players of colour required to feature for the Proteas, Netwerk24 reports.

Lorgat was speaking at the launch of the new Africa T20 Cup in Johannesburg on Tuesday.

At present, the target is to have a minimum of four players of colour in the national team. It is not a specific quota but merely a guideline that coach Russell Domingo must attempt to adhere to.

There is, however, a quota system in domestic cricket, and from next season all franchise teams would be required to feature six players of colour in their starting XIs. Of those six, three must be black African players.

It’s still unsure whether that would have an effect on the ‘target’ for the national team, and Lorgat said there wasn’t clarity on the matter yet but it would be discussed.

But Lorgat was adamant that aggressive transformation would remain top priority for Cricket South Africa.

“I’m definitely not apologising for transformation and we’ll pursue it aggressively and responsibly,” he said.

Lorgat was visibly irritated when asked about the SMS rumours that emerged following the Proteas’ Cricket World Cup semi-final loss to New Zealand last month.

Reports indicated that he influenced the team selection when it appeared that only three players of colour would have been selected for the clash at Eden Park.

Vernon Philander, who was struggling with injury, was then picked at the expense of an in-form Kyle Abbott.