Quinton de Kock's immediate future with South Africa remains clouded after the former captain's decision to skip their win over the West Indies in defiance of a team order to take the knee.
De Kock was still with South Africa's team at their hotel on Wednesday night, as he prepared to break his silence.
In a chaotic three hours before Tuesday's match, South African players were told they must take a knee in support of the Black Lives Matter movement after individuals took various postures before the previous game against Australia.
De Kock had declined to take a knee in the past calling it "my own personal opinion", with Cricket South Africa confirming that was the reason for his absence.
"As a team, we obviously were surprised and taken aback by the news," captain Temba Bavuma said.
"Not having that at my disposal as a captain was obviously something I wasn't looking forward to.
"In saying that, Quinton is an adult. We respect his decision."
The reverberations of de Kock's call were felt far and wide.
Former South Africa coach Mickey Arthur refused to comment on the matter specifically on Wednesday night without knowing the full scenario.
"The decisions are personal I would have thought or directed by your board," Arthur said in his role as Sri Lanka coach.
"One thing that we are very clear is there's no room for any form of racism, discrimination or anything within cricket."
Former ICC chief Malcolm Speed and Adam Gilchrist were among those to question an edict being put on players to take a knee.
"I think they did (over-reach)," Speed told SEN.
"My personal view is cricket boards should not be able to go that far and direct players on ethical or moral issues."
Australia's approach remains that they discuss the issue with opposing teams before each match, before deciding whether to take the knee together.
An edict has never been given to players from above, but a decision is made as one group.
It comes after initial criticism from Michael Holding when Australia did not take a knee in England last year, before a barefoot circle was implemented at home last summer.
"From my perspective I can't talk about what's happening in the (South African) camp," David Warner said.
"At home we take part in the barefoot circle and we recognise our Indigenous peoples and condemn racism globally.
"We respect the decision of the opponents and the captains will talk about it before we go out to play, and we'll take the knee as well and we will reciprocate."
Seven months after losing the captaincy, there are now questions over de Kock's future.
Already there are suggestions he could be approached by Big Bash clubs if he opted out of South Africa's summer.
That move was backed by Warner, who believed he could be a drawcard for Australia's Twenty20 tournament.
"He'd be great for the Big Bash," Warner said.
"There's a lot of other leagues around the world that other South African players are participating in.
"That's obviously a decision for each individual but it would be good for any international player to come down to Australia and participate."
Australian Associated Press
