Bavuma

SA coach Rob Walter said he was “proud” of Temba Bavuma despite the injured captain being unable to break the country’s World Cup jinx. Image: ICC Cricket World Cup

Bavuma and Rabada rested for T20 and ODI series

Proteas coach Rob Walter said the ICC Cricket World Cup pressure took a ‘mental toll’ on ODI captain Temba Bavuma.

Bavuma

SA coach Rob Walter said he was “proud” of Temba Bavuma despite the injured captain being unable to break the country’s World Cup jinx. Image: ICC Cricket World Cup

Temba Bavuma and Kagiso Rabada have been rested from the upcoming Proteas One-Day International (ODI) series against India which starts on 10 December.

Bavuma, who struggled during the ICC Cricket World Cup which concluded last month, will not feature in the short format of the game against India but will be available for the Test series.

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Proteas coach Rob Walter said the World Cup took a mental toll on the Proteas captain.

Bavuma will be available for the Test series later in December

“Temba’s been phenomenal throughout the year, but there’s a mental toll in terms of the pressures of a World Cup,” said Walter as per SA Cricket Magazine.

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“For him to step away for a while and prioritise being ready for the Test series is important to us. In fact, we want all of our key players to be in the best shape for that series and that drove our decision-making.

“It may seem a progressive decision, but it was actually an easy call to make. All three of us [Walter, Bavuma and Test coach Shukri Conrad] were on the same page. We didn’t deliberate long – it was the right thing to do for Temba and his cricket,” Walter said.

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T20I captain Aiden Markram will captain the ODI side in Bavuma’s absence.

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