Former England cricketer Kevin Pietersen came to the defence of Shubman Gill and the Indian team support staff after they posted a picture with a tranquillised Rhinoceros in South Africa earlier this week.
Gill, along with several players of the Indian Test team and coaches went on a jungle safari a couple of days back where they took pictures with several wild animals, including a rhino.
The picture which widely circulated on social media was the one where Gill, head coach Rahul Dravid, batting coach Vikram Rathour and fielding coach T Dillip were seen posing with a rhino, which had its eyes covered while lying unconscious on the ground.
Netizens express concern over unconscious rhino
But the picture came under criticism from netizens, who felt that the animal was probably under some distress or being forcibly tranquillised so that the Indian cricket stars can pose with it.
Several users on X even tagged Kevin Pietersen in the replies, asking him to intervene in the situation and help stop this practice in South Africa.
Pietersen however, explained that the rhino wouldn't have been darted just for pictures and instead, praised the conservation organisations in South Africa "that are trying to save this iconic species."
"This would be a part of a program that’s being ethically run through a trusted conservation org. This animal wouldn’t be darted for photos with people.
"To say or imply this is truly misleading and discredits the wonderful conservation orgs in SA that are trying to save this iconic species," Pietersen replied on the viral picture posted by a verified X user and cricket fan named Mufaddal Vohra.
KP's Rhino conservation work for SORAI
The South Africa-born Pietersen played 104 Tests for England and scored over 8,000 runs. He also represented the country in 136 one-day internationals with an average of 40.
But after retirement, Pietersen has been dabbling in commentary and creating awareness about animal conservation through Saving Our Rhino Africa & India (SORAI), a charity organisation that he established in 2018.
SORAI has supported grassroots organisations that rescue abandoned, injured, and orphaned endangered species and rehabilitate them where possible.
