'Choker' tag looms large as Bavuma & Co begin Cup campaign
NEW DELHI: It's not easy being Temba Bavuma. He is leading a South Africa team that has become increasingly susceptible to losing players to T20 leagues. His own place in the team has forever been under scrutiny.
In essence, he has to do more than just plot a World Cup campaign which starts with facing Sri Lanka here on Saturday. When one of the most experienced members of the team - Quinton de Kock - publicly declares that the lure of T20 leagues is much greater than the pride of representing his country, there ought to be an uneasy feeling in the camp.
South African cricket has been in choppy waters, and Bavuma has been placed in front of the wheel to steer them towards stability. For all his diminutive appearance, Bavuma has a powerful stature.
"I don't know if it's my job as captain to inspire the guys to play ODI cricket. It's becoming tougher for the guys to overlook the opportunity of playing in T20 leagues. That's just the real thing. I can speak about Cricket South Africa, we are trying to get ahead of the train. I guess that train has already gone. But we are trying to accommodate those individuals who have those opportunities of playing outside South Africa," Bavuma said on Friday.
"For me if you have the opportunity to play for your country, you wear that badge with pride and honour and don't take anything for granted," he added.
SA embrace the 'C' word
Bavuma isn't someone to sugarcoat the issues plaguing his team. He doesn't mind discussing the dreaded word 'choke'. The word has become synonymous with South Africa's performances in big events over the decades. "I have used that (the word 'choke') a couple of times. But you don't really hear it coming from the team. The belief that happens among the players is important. I bring it up to just make sure that we are not kind of skirting around the issue. It is just that acceptance that it will always be within the team, within the group, the guys who will have to come don't experience that," a forthright Bavuma said.
"The biggest thing for me is to accept that it is what it is. As a South African team we do have that chip in our block. That's narrative is always going to be there until we win a silverware," the captain added frankly.
Lanka keen on playing with freedom
South Africa aren't the only ones struggling to keep their cricket thriving. Sri Lanka's decline over the last decade has been painful. In the last two World Cups played in this part of the world, they have emerged champions in 1996 and finished runners-up in 2011.
Coach Chris Silverwood has made it a point to ensure that the dressing room environment is conducive enough to keep Sri Lanka fighting. "We have ensured that we create an environment where we speak with freedom and play with freedom. I encourage them to find solutions to problems," Silverwood said.
