New Proteas Men’s all-format coach Shukri Conrad will not give any player an “ultimatum”, but has stressed the importance of prioritising the national team ahead of playing in leagues moving forward.
Conrad, who has been at the helm of the Proteas Test side since January 2023, was tasked with the additional responsibility of steering both ODI and T20I white-ball teams.
The 57-year-old succeeds Rob Walter after the New Zealand-based coach resigned back in April.
Upon his appointment on Friday, Conrad was particularly candid about wanting his best players available for all international cricket – both bilateral series and major ICC tournaments.
Despite Walter’s excellent ICC tournament record, which included two ODI semi-final appearances (World Cup 2023 and Champions Trophy 2025) and a first-ever T20 World Cup final appearance last year in Barbados, the blot on his report card during his tenure was his poor bilateral series record.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Shukri Conrad as the Proteas Men’s all-format head coach.
Conrad, who has led the Test side since January 2023, will now take charge of the white-ball formats starting with the T20 International tri-series… pic.twitter.com/zXNoutPnKE
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) May 9, 2025
This was primarily due to the former white-ball coach often having to field under-strength teams due to players featuring for various franchises in lucrative T20 competitions around the world.
“We’re going to put out the best Proteas side every time we play,” Conrad said.
“I’ve had conversations with our players, all-format players and guys that only play the one format that are contracted to us, that at every turn when the Proteas play, there’s an expectation that they’ll play for South Africa.
“The Proteas will never be a franchise team, the Proteas will never be a league, nor will it be a convenience.
“It’s not a matter of ultimatums. We don’t work with ultimatums. We work with good conversations.
“The top priority is that the Proteas should always be the most important team.
“I can tell you that every player I’ve spoken to puts the Proteas first. There won’t be an ultimatum.
“This is part of building a culture and building an environment that players want to be part of.
“Every single player is committed to that and wanting to be a part of it, so I can quite comfortably say that at every turn, the best Proteas side will be put out on the field.”
South Africa’s new all-format head coach Shukri Conrad is eyeing special feats with the Proteas white-ball sides 🙌
More 👉 https://t.co/HKSDrYQHun pic.twitter.com/w2AuccEgkB
— ICC (@ICC) May 10, 2025
Conrad has personally experienced the global cricket landscape when he was forced to take a severely depleted Test squad to New Zealand last year, due to the country’s leading players participating in South Africa’s own Betway SA20.
The situation has been further exacerbated with leading players such as Quinton de Kock, Anrich Nortjé, Tabraiz Shamsi and Heinrich Klaasen having in recent years opted out of national contracts in order to free up space on their personal calendars to pursue T20 franchise opportunities.
Conrad is unlikely to be held ransom by any player threatening to opt out of a contract, but he is certainly not naive to challenges that lay ahead, and has already kickstarted the dialogue with the players.
“As recently as this morning, I chatted to some of our players at the IPL and abroad in terms of potentially what their year can look like in terms of active involvement,” he said.
“This comes with careful planning and buy-in from everyone, and I think going down this road just cleans up everything.
“It makes it less messy. (There will be) less conversation and less talk that can be quite polarising in many respects.
“It’s clear; black and white. When South Africa plays, I want all my players available to play. If you choose not to play for South Africa, well, then we go down that road.
“Our all-format players have been spoken to. They are fully supportive of what I’m wanting to do, and then we plan the year for them in advance.”
