With the final leg of the India’s tour of South Africa now underway, a three part ODI series, the Proteas are now captained by a new skipper with Quinton de Kock’s albeit brief retirement.
The historic appointment of Temba Bavuma as South Africa’s white-ball captain came as a surprise – even to him: “It wasn’t something that I was expecting,” Bavuma says. “There was obviously anxiety and fear as to how I was going to take the team forward to new heights.
“The journey is still young with the white-ball teams, I must say. But I’ve enjoyed it so far.”
The Proteas were not favourites for the T20 World Cup last year and are still not favourites to beat the visitors in the second ODI test tomorrow. Cricket betting site Betway, has India at 4/6 to beat the visitors, who are currently at 6/5.
The reasoning behind Bavuma’s appointment cannot be questioned, given his wealth of experience at the level of international cricket and many years of playing alongside his teammates.
“I was fortunate in that most of the guys, especially the senior guys, I’ve played with from school level,” he says. “We understand each other and, most importantly, the respect is there.
“I spend a lot of time with KG [Rabada] on and off the field. Shamo [Tabraiz Shamsi] and Quinton [de Kock], too. These are important players to have good relationships with as a captain.
“We’re fortunate that we have several legends of the past who I can call upon, too. JP Duminy was in the T20 management camp, and he added to the brains of the team. He has a great brain and I bounced ideas off him.”
Indeed, all eyes are on Temba during the ODI series against India, and he knows it is a must-win: “We’re desperate to build on that Test series win because India have generally had the better of us in recent years. They’ve got some of the best players on the planet who are likely to go well in all conditions.
“We understand the cricketing rivalry between the sides. These are series you want to be involved in and opponents you want to test yourselves against.
“We want to continue the journey towards being considered among the world’s best again.”
Perhaps Temba can lead South Africa to move up the ICC white-ball rankings to challenge England’s spot. Indeed, all eyes will be on the upcoming T20I England series against the West Indies.
