South African cricket body probes pro-Israel comments by teenage player

South Africa’s cricket governing body has commended an investigation in response to alleged pro-Israel comments made by the captain of the national under-19 cricket team, David Teeger.

Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced that the investigation will determine whether Teeger’s comments violated its code of conduct or that of his local team, Central Gauteng Lions.

The embattled young player reportedly said at an award ceremony for Jewish achievers, “Yes, I’ve been [given] this award, and yes, I’m now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel.”

“And I’d like to dedicate it to the state of Israel and every single soldier fighting so that we can live and thrive in the diaspora.”

The teeger is yet to issue official comments on the investigation.

South Africa has long been a staunch supporter of the Palestinian struggle, and the ruling ANC likened it to their struggle against apartheid, where a white minority ruled over a black majority.

Recall that South Africa, along with Bangladesh, Bolivia, Comoros, and Djibouti, recently submitted a referral to the ICC to probe whether war crimes and crimes against humanity have been committed in the ongoing military offensives on Gaza by Israel.

The Cyril Ramaphosa-led government also announced the withdrawal of its diplomats from Israel, stressing that the position of Israel’s ambassador to Pretoria was becoming “untenable”.

Israel says it is defending itself following the October 7 attack by Hamas, which saw 1,200 people killed and more than 200 taken hostage.

Meanwhile, more than 14,500 people in Gaza were killed, and thousands of others have been severely injured since the fighting started.