Skipper Bavuma shrugs off the pressure

Captain Temba Bavuma is determined to stand tall in the face of extreme pressure as the Proteas head into their ICC T20 World Cup campaign against Zimbabwe in Hobart, New Zealand, on Monday (9am).

The 32-year-old has had to deal with a barrage of criticism over his form in recent weeks and also took ill during the later stages of the ODI series in India, leading to questions about his mental preparedness.

The skipper said though the illness that sidelined him had some lingering effects, he was “over that” and ready to lead his country.

Asked how he dealt with the pressure of his recent lack of form and being national captain, Bavuma said competitors in all sports faced pressure.

“The element of pressure is not something that is unique to me as a player, as a sportsman.

“I think all players have to deal with that pressure.

“Yes, it comes in different forms, and as a captain it is a lot more blown up.

“All eyes are on you and there is a lot more critique regarding your performances and just how you are as a leader,” he said on Sunday.

However, Bavuma said he would not shy away from his responsibilities as a leader and as a representative of the national team.

“With the title of being captain comes that responsibility and it is not something one can really shy away from.

“So with all the pressure that is on me, I will face up to it with as much honour and gratitude as I can,” he said.

The right-handed batsman said a key lesson the team took from last year’s edition of the tournament was to ensure they kept a keen eye on their net run rate, and if the chance to win well presented itself, they needed to grab it with both hands.

The Proteas missed out on a semifinal spot at last year’s World Cup, despite winning four out of five matches (the same number as losing semifinalists England, losing finalists New Zealand and eventual champions Australia) because their net run rate was the thirdlowest in their six-team group, and they only had themselves to blame.

SA bowled Bangladesh out for 84 in their fourth match but took 13.3 overs to chase the target down. Had they scored the runs quicker, they would have given themselves a better chance of advancing.

“One of the key learnings we took from the last World Cup was that every game matters.

“You want to try to perform as well as you can, but also keep a pulse on that net run rate — if there is an opportunity to win well, [we need to] make sure that we do so.

“We want to start on a positive note, we don’t want to ease ourselves into the tournament because there really is no time to do that, so tomorrow [Monday] will be an opportunity to execute our plans and skills accordingly,” Bavuma said.