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Cricket South Africa removed David Teeger as the captain of their U-19 squad a week before the World Cup. The cricketing board cited Teeger’s pro-Israel co mments as the reason behind taking the bold step of removing the teenager. The 2024 U19 World Cup will be hosted by South Africa and the tournament will begin on January 19. The Proteas’ board released a statement and confirmed that Teeger will be relieved of his duties as the captain of his side, and will continue as a player.”
Teeger had made pro-Israeli statements in November last year, which prompted CSA to make this decision. The statement released by the CSA read, “In all the circumstances, CSA has decided that David should be relieved of the captaincy for the tournament. This is in the best interests of all the players, the SA U19 team, and David himself. David will remain an important and active member of the squad and we wish him and the team every success in the tournament. The newly appointed captain will be announced in due course.”
The statement further read, "We have also been advised that they are likely to focus on the position of the SA Under-19 captain, David Teeger and that there is a risk that they could result in conflict or even violence, including between rival groups of protestors. CSA has a primary duty to safeguard the interests and safety of all those involved in the World Cup and must accordingly respect the expert advice of those responsible for the safety of participants and spectators.”
Notably, on October 22, 2023, Teeger was named the Rising Star at the ABSA Jewish Achiever Awards ceremony, and in his acceptance speech, he made some comments on the Israel-Gaza conflicts. He said, “I've been awarded this award, and yes, I am now the rising star, but the true rising stars are the young soldiers in Israel… So I'd like to dedicate this award to the South African family that married off one son whilst the other is still missing. And I'd like to dedicate it to the state of Israel and to every single soldier fighting so that we can live and thrive in the diaspora."