Elgar defends his team, asks Bangladesh "to harden up" amid sledging allegations

South African Test captain Dean Elgar defended his team against allegations of sledging during the first Test between Bangladesh and South Africa in Durban. 

He opined that Bangladesh players needed to 'harden up' to play the game at a high level. "I don't think they are justified whatsoever," said Elgar. "We play the game hard (but) if anything, we were just giving back what we were getting when we batted."

He continued, "This is Test cricket. It's a man's environment when it comes to playing at this level, and I intend still to play the game hard." 

However, he claimed that his team stopped using foul language toward the opponent out of respect despite playing the game hard.

South Africa has been accused of unbearable sledging. According to Bangladesh cricket operations chief Jalal Yunus, the BCB would make an official complaint to the International Council regarding the same. He also mentioned biased umpiring that led the BCB to call for neutral umpires. 

The umpiring at Durban saw several reviews - 11 by Bangladesh and 10 by South Africa, with four reviews upheld for each team. Marais Erasmus and Adrian Holdstock from South Africa were the men in charge for the first Test match.

Elgar said, "I don't think the wicket helped. There was variable bounce which can challenge the umpires. I feel for them because they are good umpires. The human factor needs to be spoken of, they do make errors, as do the players, but I'm pretty sure they will learn a lot from that."

Elgar further opined, "The technology is there for a reason. If you don't use the technology, you're holding yourself accountable for their decisions."

The second Test between the two sides will begin from April 8 in Gqeberha.