Backlash as Kevin Pietersen praises SA as ‘greatest country
Former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen has been criticised for praising South Africa, his birthplace. The retired player was born to an Afrikaaner…
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Former England cricket captain Kevin Pietersen has been criticised for praising South Africa, his birthplace.
The retired player was born to an Afrikaaner father and a British mother in Pietermaritzburg, left home at 19 after criticising the sporting quota system.
After four years of residency in the UK, he qualified to play for England, where he eventually led the national team.
Kevin splits his time between England and South Africa.
KEVIN PIETERSEN PRAISES SA – BACKLASH
On his X account, Kein Pietersen exuberantly posted: “South Africa is the GREATEST country on this planet.
The South African-born cricketer is currently in the country, where he is enjoying a bush and beach break.
His tweet was praised by government officials like Minister of Sport Gayton McKenzie and DIRCO Director Clement Monyela.
Others used the opportunity to slate Kevin Pietersen for his decision to represent England rather than South Africa in cricket.
@SirKingEmanuel: “Yet you chose to play for England over The Proteas”
@saandpalestine2: “Wasn’t good enough for you”.
@leonthemod: “Love it that much you dedicated your test career to the country you love so much”
Kevin Petersen was born in Pietermaritzburg in KwaZulu-Natal in 1980. He attended Maritzburg College and was later selected to play for Natal’s B team in 1997 at the age of 17
However, in his 2007 autobiography Crossing The Boundary, Kevin revealed the real reason he left SA.
An extract of the book, as published by DailyMail reads: “I was dropped because the quota system was brought into South African cricket to positively discriminate in favour of ‘players of colour’ and to fast-track the racial integration of cricket in the country.
He continued: “To me, every single person in this world needs to be treated exactly the same. And that should have included me as a promising 20-year-old cricketer. If you do well, you should play on merit. That goes for any person of any colour. It was heartbreaking”
A year earlier, Kevin Pietersen implied in a GQ interview: “Better players are being left out for political reasons, and until that system changes, South African sport will continue to go downhill.”
Kevin claimed that “racism” in South African cricket had fuelled his decision to pursue his career in England.
Kevin later added that “it turned out it was the best thing that could have happened.”