Ex-India Wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel Calls South Africa Coach ‘Disrespectful’ Over Grovel Comment

The backlash against South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad's controversial "grovel" remark during the second Test against India intensified on Wednesday, with former India wicketkeeper Parthiv Patel joining a chorus of criticism and predicting an apology from the visitors for what he deemed a "disrespectful" comment laced with a smirk. Patel, speaking on Star Sports ahead of Day 5 play, suggested Conrad was fully aware of the word's loaded history, stating, "Maybe the South African coach does not know the weightage of the word. But I don’t think so. There was a smirk on his face when he said it." The remark, made post-Day 4 on Tuesday, has overshadowed South Africa's dominant position, with the Proteas on the verge of a historic series win in India after 25 years.

Conrad's comment stemmed from explaining his team's tactical decision to bat nearly 80 overs in their second innings, extending a 548-run lead into a 549-run target for India, forcing the hosts to field under the draining Guwahati sun. "We wanted them to really grovel, to steal a phrase, bat them completely out of the game,game, and then say to them,them, 'Come'Come and survive on the last day and an hour this evening,'" he said, explicitly referencing England captain Tony Greig's infamous 1976 pre-series taunt against the West Indies. Greig, a white South African-born player, used the term amid apartheid-era racial tensions, implying subservience and igniting outrage that propelled Clive Lloyd's side to a 3-0 whitewash, cementing its era of dominance. While Conrad prefaced it as a "borrow," Patel and others argue the context—uttered from a South African coach against a post-colonial nation—carries unavoidable baggage, even if unintended as malice.

Patel's intervention follows sharp rebukes from Anil Kumble, who invoked the 1976 fallout to stress humility in victory, and Cheteshwar Pujara, who said it would "hurt" the dressing room but urged an on-field response through gritty batting. Dale Steyn, South Africa's all-time leading Test wicket-taker, distanced himself, while commentator Aakash Chopra hoped the Indian team would use it as fuel. "As the Indian team,team, all you do is tell them that 'you've come to this situation by playing well. Well done to you. But there was no need to use such words’," Patel added, emphasizing that hard-fought cricket needs no such provocation. Social media erupted with memes and calls for accountability, amplifying the row as India faced 90 overs to chase an improbable 549—the highest fourth-innings target in Test history remains 418.

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With South Africa's spinners Senuran Muthusamy and Simon Harmer controlling proceedings on a batting-friendly pitch, the controversy risks escalating if India mounts a survival effort, potentially echoing the West Indies' riposte to Greig. Cricket South Africa has yet to comment officially, but Patel's expectation of an apology underscores a broader push for sensitivity in the sport's evolving global dialogue on language, history, and respect—especially as the Proteas eye a first series triumph in India since 1999-2000. Whether Conrad clarifies or doubles down, the word has already shifted focus from the pitch to the press box, reminding all that some phrases, however tactical, cut deeper than a well-timed yorker.

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