Teeger falls as CSA buckle under pressure

In his speech at the ABSA Jewish Achiever Awards, on 22 October 2023, Teeger said, “I am now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel.” He further went on to dedicate the award to the IDF soldiers.

This comment came two weeks after Hamas infiltrated and attacked civilians in Israel on October 7. Globally it was a very touchy subject as supporters from both sides marched in cities around the world.

Teeger, who is Jewish, obviously feels deeply about what is happening in Palestine and Israel. However, in the age of social media, his comments drew plenty of attention from Palestinian supporters.

This led to an investigation by Cricket South Africa (CSA), but he was cleared as the hearing found that he had not transgressed on CSA’s and his Central Gauteng Lions’ codes of conduct. He remained in the frame for the World Cup squad and as captain.

However, that was not the end of it, as it never is in today’s world. Cancel culture continues to grow with opinions taken as fact, as is the case in this conflict between Israel and Hamas.

Following the clearing of Teeger, he remained available for selection, but a bit more than a week before the tournament, Teeger was sacked as captain by CSA.

In a CSA statement, they claimed that it was for security reasons. 

Many have questioned the legitimacy of these security claims since it was announced, especially considering that Teeger was not removed from the squad, he was simply relieved as captain.

What is concerning is that a young Jewish boy has been treated in this way after expressing an opinion, two weeks after civilians in Israel were brutally attacked and murdered.

Since the sacking of Teeger, CSA has denied accusations of antisemitism made by the South African Jewish Board of Deputies (SAJBD).

The timing of the incident was very suspicious to say the least. The South African government (ANC ruling party) has always stood in solidarity with Palestine and recently accused Israel of genocide in an unprecedented case at the United Nations’ top court.

So, it is not far-fetched to believe that this decision came from far higher up than the head of CSA, especially when you consider the history of South African cricket and the meddling in selections from higher powers.

While the SAJBD laid a complaint with the ICC as well, the ICC has said that they will not investigate as they cannot meddle with selections of captaincy choices. 

However, ICC rules explicitly state that there is a requirement to manage affairs autonomously and ensure there is no government interference in the governance, regulation and/or administration of cricket. 

Should it be proven at a later stage that there was indeed political interference there could be repercussions for CSA.

Last year, Sri Lanka was suspended from the ICC for political interference. The ban has since been lifted.

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At the time of writing, the South Africa U/19 side has won two of their three games at the World Cup. They defeated the West Indies, lost to England and beat Scotland.

Teeger has scores of 44, 0 and 43.