Bavuma optimistic despite Proteas’ dismal India tour
PROTEAS captain Temba Bavuma does not believe “it’s all doom and gloom” after the team’s performance during the recent tour to India, and says they are “excited” ahead of the coming ICC T20 Men’s World Cup in Australia.
The Proteas went down 2-1 in the T20I series before also losing the ODI series by the same margin. The final ODI was a particular disaster, with South Africa bundled out for 99 in just 27.1 overs, before the hosts chased it down in under 20 overs.
Equally, Bavuma has been the focus of attention after the skipper managed only three runs off 19 balls in the T20I series. Bavuma’s tour slipped further into the quagmire when he missed part of the ODI series due to a viral infection.
However, the 32-year-old claims his team will put their recent setbacks behind them and refocus on the challenges ahead.
“To be honest, I think the guys are in good spirits. We’ve obviously just come from India where we didn’t have the best of series, but I think there’s still a lot of confidence that we can take throughout our season, and the performances that we’ve put together as a team,” Bavuma said at the pre-tournament captains’ press conference on Saturday morning in Melbourne.
“I think it’s not all doom and gloom for us. We’re excited. We’re looking forward to this tournament and how far we can go. Probably not a lot of expectation around us as a team again. So I guess for us we’ll be flying under the radar every day, doing the best that we can and preparing as well as we can for all the games and enjoy the journey, as well.”
After having already lost senior batter Rassie van der Dussen for the upcoming T20 World Cup due to a hand injury suffered during the Test series in England, the Proteas suffered another setback when Dwaine Pretorius fractured his left thumb in the third T20I against India in Indore.
Both Van der Dussen and Pretorius were an integral part of the Proteas winning four of their five matches in last year’s T20 World Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
Bavuma, though, believes that rookie leftarm seamer Marco Jansen’s inclusion for Pretorius could almost be a blessing in disguise.
“Marco is a big addition for us. He obviously comes in with an extra bit of pace. He’s a left-arm option as well, that gives a bit more variety in our bowling attack. He comes at quite a steep length, as well,” Bavuma said.
“Excited to see Marco in the squad. He’s been champing at the bit looking for his opportunity, so I guess we’re excited to see how much value he can add within the team.”
The Proteas will play two warm-up matches against New Zealand (Monday, 6am SA time) and Bangladesh (Wednesday, 10am SA time) this coming week, ahead of their tournament opener next Sunday.
Both matches will be played in Brisbane.