South African cricket saw a lot of changes in the last couple of years. Moreover, a few key players also announced their retirements and amid all the turmoil, Temba Bavuma was handed over the reins of white-ball cricket in March 2021. With this, South African cricket made history as well as he became the first black cricketer to lead a South African team.
When he took over the responsibility, the T20 World Cup was around the corner and the team was not at all a favourite in the tournament as well. And, as expectedly, they failed to do well in the multi-nation tournament and bowed out of the group stages as well.
However, Temba Bavuma has admitted that he has enjoyed his time so far. While speaking to Betway Insider, the South African captain said: “It wasn’t something that I was expecting. 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.”
“I was fortunate in that most of the guys, especially the senior guys, I’ve played with from school level,” he again shared in an interview.
“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,” Temba Bavuma continued.
“I pride myself in being honest, understanding where I can improve”: Temba Bavuma
However, the veteran batsman wants to leave his own authority as a captain and take South African cricket forward in future too.
“The better you know yourself, the less likely you are to be affected by what other people say about you. I pride myself in being honest, understanding where I can improve but also not losing focus from taking the team forward,” he again shared.
And, ten months in this new role, Temba Bavuma has already taken the team to a new height. Out of the 13 T20Is he has captained so far, South Africa have emerged winners on 10 matches whereas he has managed three wins in eight ODIs as well. Notably, his biggest win will be to beat India in the ongoing ODI series, where they have led the three-match series 2-0.
They registered a 3-2 win away and then-world champions West Indies as well. After that, they won comprehensively by 3-0 in both Ireland and Sri Lanka, which set South Africa up well for their T20 World Cup as well.
On the other hand, they failed to make it out of the Super 12 stage in the mega event, but they won four of their five matches, which could have been enough to seal a semi-final spot.
“It can be a challenge to combine the two, but you have to make sure that you’re mentally fresh. The captaincy can clutter your mind. It can be easy to play the game in your head and you don’t want that. I like to put the hard work in a few days out from the game. If you’re playing on a Friday, I’ll put the work in on Monday or Tuesday,” he revealed.
He stated: “And then the closer you get to the game, you focus more on the mental side. It’s so important to be clear with your plans and clear with what you want to do. Then anything else can just be discarded.”
However, South Africa has recently beat India in the three-match Tests series by 2-1. While taking about the team-talks in the days leading up to the series, he said: “The guys don’t need any more motivation. You’re coming up against a team like India.”
“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,” Temba Bavuma concluded.
