Proteas make history in India: Bavuma's leadership shines

Proteas captain Temba Bavuma is the master of all he surveys and is fast etching his name into the annals of South African cricket history.

Having become the first South African captain in twenty-seven years to lift a global ICC trophy at Lord’s a few months ago, when he guided his team to World Test Championship success, Bavuma has now masterminded the Proteas’ 2-0 clean sweep of India after their mammoth 408-run victory in the second Test in Guwahati yesterday.

It is the Proteas’ first series win in India since the late Hansie Cronje’s side triumphed twenty-five years ago at the turn of the millennium.

The journey to this summit has been challenging for Bavuma as the first Black African Proteas captain, but the skipper can now bask in the glory of success.

“I think now I'm probably a lot more assured of myself as a person, as a captain, of what I'm trying to do out there,” Bavuma said.

“I mean, within the team, we have a lot of leaders. And I think it’s kind of understanding where certain guys provide value within the team and allowing them to flourish within that space.”

Bavuma believes his ascension to greatness has stemmed from better understanding his dual role as captain and batter, helping him lead from the front.

“The vision is clear, and I think probably something that I have learned a lot better over the last couple of years is being able to separate the captain and me being the batter or your skill,” he said.

“I think it’s important that from a skill point of view, your primary skill, that you do that as well as you can.

“Guys generally follow what they see, not necessarily what you tell them. So, I always try to ensure that from a batting point of view I’m contributing as much as I can to the team. I think the team now is really in a good space.”

Bavuma has also had to overcome numerous injury setbacks recently, which disrupted his preparation for this India series. He had not played any Test cricket since the halcyon days of Lord’s back in June and had to put in the extra yards to be ready for this all-important contest, which makes the success even sweeter.

“The guys came in ready, if I could put it that way. I think for me it was a case of getting up to speed with the guys having been out with injury,” he said.

“Coming back into the team, I felt as if the guys were at a higher level. I think the onus was more on me to up my game.

“Coming here, I would have never thought 2-0 would be the result of the series, but I think it’s an incredible achievement for the group of players. We are creating some memorable moments.”

The 2-0 series victory has placed the defending champions in second position on the WTC table with 36 points, behind Australia’s 48 after four matches.

THE MERCURY