Proteas coach Shukri Conrad sweating over captain Temba Bavuma's chronic injuries

Proteas coach Shukri Conrad has admitted that he is “very concerned” about Temba Bavuma’s chronic injury problems, and that the team needs to “be smarter” in the management of the Test and ODI skipper’s future in the build-up to the 2027 World Cup.

Bavuma, 35, has suffered a spate of injuries over the past couple of years, with his most recent calf strain ruling him out of next month’s tour to Pakistan. 

It has become particularly concerning after Bavuma also suffered a hamstring strain in the World Test Championship final, which caused him to miss the subsequent Zimbabwe tour. 

He has also struggled with an elbow injury, first sustained back in 2022, which has troubled him ever since, causing Bavuma to spend a lengthy period on the sidelines in the build-up to the WTC Final. 

“Yeah, very concerned, obviously. I mean, we've seen every series there's been an injury,” Conrad said when asked about Bavuma’s fitness.

“It's not for want of him trying. I mean, the guy's doing everything in his powers to make sure that he remains injury-free.

“We just need to be smarter with how we manage these guys. If their form is still good enough and they're worth managing, which in his case it definitely is the case. His form is definitely good enough.

“He's the captain of our Test side and our ODI side, and he's definitely worth managing. So, we've just got to make sure that we manage them better. 

“Obviously, age is not on his side, so it is a bit of a concern. But I'm pretty sure given the calibre of our medical staff and the desire from Tim to get himself in peak condition, that hopefully these injuries will be something of the past very soon.”

Bavuma’s absence for the Pakistan Test series is a major blow to the defending WTC champions’ aspirations as Conrad expects the pitches to be bunsen burners in Lahore and Rawalpindi. 

The skipper is arguably the best player of spin within the Proteas’ Test batting line-up. 

Equally, Conrad has to juggle his bowling formations with premier spinner Keshav Maharaj only available for the second Test after the left-arm sustained a groin injury on the recent England tour.

Veteran off-spinner Simon Harmer has been recalled from the international wilderness to join up with Senuran Muthusamy and Prenelan Subrayen. 

Seamer Lungi Ngidi has also been overlooked for the Pakistan tour with Conrad likely to field all three specialist spinners in the first Test. 

“We've obviously got to look at how we structure our lineup in terms of balance with regards to how many quicks, how many spinners,” he said.

“I expect spin-friendly conditions in Pakistan. In fact, I expect it to be extreme spin, not only spin-friendly. So the balance is whether we go with two quicks, KG (Kagiso Rabada) and…  

“Is it KG and Wiaan (Mulder)? Is it KG and Marko (Jansen)? And then how many batters, how many spinners? 

“We've got three available for the first Test in Sen and Simon and Subs, and then obviously Kesh comes in for the second Test. It really comes down to the balance of our bowling attack.”