South Africa’s Olympic body has taken control of cricket in the country and has also asked Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) board and senior executives – including acting CEO Kugandrie Govender – to step down. It might fall foul of the ICC’s rules on government interference and lead to ICC barring South Africa from international cricket.

The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) will now conduct an investigation into the affairs at CSA and will make its recommendations within a month.

Cricket South Africa asked to step down

According to reports by local media, letters from the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee to CSAsays “the CSA board and those senior executives who serve ex-officio on the board (the company secretary, the acting CEO, the CFO and the COO) are directed to step aside from the administration of CSA on full pay,” pending the outcome of a month-long investigation by a task team.

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SASCOC also said that “many instances of maladministration and malpractice that have occurred since at least December 2019.”

“This has manifestly caused great concern and consternation amongst your own members, former and current members of the national team of the Proteas, stakeholders, sponsors, and members of the cricket-loving public,” the letter said.

“There can be no doubt that this has caused cricket to lose the trust and confidence of members of the public, stakeholders, sponsors and the players represented by SACA [the South African Cricketers’ Association]. All this has brought cricket into disrepute,” it added. 

Meanwhile, South Africa can face something similar which happened to Zimbabwe last year. Incidentally, SASCOC governs the relationship between the state and sports federations. They also have the authority to put CSA under administration. Their decision, taken at a meeting on Tuesday, was passed by a unanimous vote.