‘I’m still seeing the same faces over and over’ – Shabnim Ismail calls for changes in coaching setup of South Africa women’s team

Shabnim Ismail. (Photo Source: Matthew Lewis-ICC/ICC via Getty Images)

Former South Africa pacer Shabinim Ismail believes that Cricket South Africa (CSA) needs to restructure the atmosphere surrounding the women’s team, and only then she would consider joining the team in a coaching role. The 34-year-old, who was South Africa’s leading wicket-taker in ODIs and T20Is, called time on her international career following the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup earlier in 2023.

Ismail, who received her third Women’s Cricketer of the Year title at the CSA Awards, stated that she would like to help the future generation of female players in South Africa. The 34-year-old also stated that she does not want to join CSA anytime soon since she believes the Proteas women require new faces on the coaching staff. She also stated that the CSA management had made no changes to the coaching staff, which was one of the reasons she left them.

“In terms of CSA, for now, after retirement, while I’d love to help, I also want to clear my mind. I want to get away, get complete downtime from Cricket SA, which is sad. I don’t want to just jump back in with CSA at the moment, where I’m still seeing the same faces over and over. It’s part of the reason I moved myself away from CSA,” Ismail was quoted as saying by Times Live.

There are people capable of filling the shoes of the players who have retired: Ismail

According to Ismail, South Africa is composed of experienced and knowledgeable players. She asked CSA to recruit appropriate individuals for coaching roles and urged the management to guarantee that the next generation is given all they needed to succeed on the field.

“I’ve seen the experience and knowledge that is in the Proteas set-up, it’s for them to go out there and believe in themselves. There are people capable of filling the shoes of the players who have retired and CSA needs to put the right plans in place to make sure we are giving that next generation enough to produce the goods on the field,” said Ismail.