George Linde has revealed why he did not travel to New Zealand with the Proteas.
When announcing the Test squad, CSA convener of selectors Victor Mpitsang said the spinner was unavailable for the tour as he is getting married soon. Simon Harmer was included instead as the backup spinner to Keshav Maharaj.
However, Linde told Rapport newspaper there was more to it than that.
Having been in the Proteas squad for last year’s tours of the West Indies and Sri Lanka and the recent Test series against India without playing, the 30-year-old requested to play in the T20 Challenge provincial tournament rather than go to New Zealand and carry drinks again.
“I’m going to be honest and say it hurt me mentally,” Linde told Rapport of the time he spent bio-bubbles. “It was frustrating not being able to be on the field. It started to feel like my game level was deteriorating because I played so little.
“It’s very nice just to play again … all I want to do is play cricket.
“Of course, it is a World Cup year, so I want to play as much as possible. Cricket is also the thing that makes me happy.
“The hope is to be eligible for the next T20 World Cup [in Australia later this year]. I can only do this if I play regularly.
“I will always want to play for South Africa. But if they never pick me up again, that’s OK. I just want to play cricket, that’s all.”
