Indian Premier League scandal causes friction between South African Sports Minister Mbalula and Graeme Smith
South African sports minister, Fikile Mbalula, has advised Graeme Smith to stay clear of politics and focus on his game.
This latest incident is not ideal for South African cricket as they will be heading to the World Cup quite soon and these kinds of controversies are not suited for a team before heading into one of the most competitive international tournaments.
The whole controversy erupted, when Cricket http://www.senore.com/Cricket/South-Africa-c757 president, Mtutuzeli Nyoka, accused CEO Majola of lying to him over Indian Premier League (IPL) bonuses.
Noyaka was of the view that Majola lied about the fact that Cricket South Africa (CSA) employees were paid bonuses for successfully hosting the Indian Premier League in 2009.
He further said that CSA would not be able to bury the truth. Things were given a bit of twist when South African Captain, Graeme Smith, got involved in this matter and gave full support to his CEO. This is where government officials had to come into the
picture and intervene between the parties.
Mbalula suggested cricket players stay away from politics.
Graeme Smith has the utmost respect for Cricket South African CEO and in his earlier comments suggested that Majola has always supported the South African players.
Majola has been the CEO of South African cricket for many years and a lot of development of South African cricket has been done during his time. Smith also said that despite Noyaka’s claims players have full confidence in Majola.
Fikile Mbalula knows the sensitivity of the situation and it was a wise comment from a person with authority.
Mbalula said that Graeme Smith is a great captain of the South African cricket team. He further said that authorities do get disturbed when players get drawn into internal wrangling and arguments with the top management of the cricket board.
It is never an ideal situation for a top player to get involved in war of words with top management officials. Not only do such situations create disturbances but it can also complicate the player’s career.
Graeme Smith is one individual, who normally stays out of trouble and rarely engages in public debate with team officials or members of the board. He generally keeps a low profile and knows when to comment.
It is not unusual for players to get attached to cricket officials as they spend a lot of time with these individuals and a number of important decisions are made by the cricket board after consultations with senior players.
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