Temba Bavuma has been emerging as a new superstar for the South Africans. The diminutive right-hander came up with some useful knocks in the recently held test series against India and followed it up with a superb century in the first ODI against the Men in Blue at Paarl.
The man, who is also the first black captain of South Africa, has shared his views to betting website Betway about his new job, his batting, and other aspects.
It can be noted that the South African team has been going through a major transition with a lot of established players disappearing off the radar to give way to rookies. Temba Bavuma suddenly finds himself to be one of the most important players for the South Africans, leading them in the ODIs and becoming a key batsman in the test line up.
In March 2021, Bavuma, who hardly has any experience at the international level, was fast tracked into being the captain of the ODI and T20 teams.
Temba Bavuma. Photo courtesy of Cricket ke Diwane – Live Update/Wikipedia.org.
Bavuma, in a conversation with Betway’s Adam Drury, 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.”
One has to say that the South African cricket team, which has been quite formidable all these years, seems to be now filled up with so many inexperienced players. Just when most people thought they would be trashed by India in the three-match Test series, the South Africans proved them wrong by clinching the series.
The Proteas are doing quite well to keep their pride intact thanks to some heroic performances from the likes of Temba Bavuma, Keegan Peterson, Dean Elgar, and others.
Bavuma said that the South African players want to be considered to be among the world’s best again. The India series could well be the turning point for the new set of South African players.
The middle order batsman told the publication: “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.”