AB de Villiers backs Temba Bavuma amidst heavy criticism
Temba Bavuma’s form remains a major concern for South Africa heading into the T20 World Cup 2022, with the skipper having struggled for runs in recent times. Making a comeback after an injury in the recent three-match T20I series against India, Bavuma registered scores of 0, 0 and 3, while facing 19 balls combined across the three innings.
Questions have also been raised over his place in the XI, given Reeza Hendricks form this year, who has aggregated 323 runs at 46.14 and a strike-rate of 139.82, with four fifties in seven innings.
A dismal series for the South African captain and an unwanted record đź‘€#INDvsSA pic.twitter.com/2n72aygssc
— CricXtasy (@CricXtasy) October 5, 2022
Bavuma, though, gets the support of AB de Villiers, the former South Africa skipper, who backs the 32-year-old to rediscover his best in near future.
“I think it's a question on everyone's lips at the moment - is Temba (Bavuma) the right guy? All of a sudden you start seeing your name in the newspapers, you start hearing friends talking about your form and you start doubting whether you belong there or not,” de Villiers said in an open interaction on Twitter Spaces.
“But If you guys think about it, to have come to where he is now, you must have a lot of desire and a lot of determination and there must be something very special inside of you. So for Temba to be the captain of South Africa already is an incredible achievement.”
De Villiers, who represented South Africa in 114 Tests, 228 ODIs and 78 T20Is in a highly accomplished career between 2004 and 2018, believes that the T20 World Cup could just be the stage for Bavuma to make a significant mark.
“There are some fairy-tales that I've seen on the cricket field before, especially from people being out of form going into big tournaments,” said de Villiers. “So I do believe Temba is the right man for the job. I believe his form will come at the right time, at the right place, which there's no better than the T20 World Cup.”
South Africa, having gone down 1-2 in the T20I series, will now face India in three ODIs, the first of which will be played in Lucknow on Thursday, October 6.