Temba Bavuma and Rassie van der Dussen
Ashley Vlotman/Gallo Images
- Proteas batter Rassie van der Dussen believes captain Temba Bavuma is one knock away from getting out of his slump with the bat.
- Bavuma scored two ducks in two T20s against India and his form has come under scrutiny ahead of this month’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
- The Proteas lost the three-match T20 series 2-0 with the final match set on Tuesday.
Proteas batter Rassie van der Dussen backs captain Temba Bavuma to regain his form ahead of the T20 World Cup in Australia.
Van der Dussen was ruled out of the T20 World Cup after sustaining a finger injury in England and will not be part of the Proteas’ 15-man squad ahead of this month’s prestigious event.
The Proteas are currently in India for an ongoing T20 and ODI series and have lost the T20 series 2-0, with the final match scheduled on Tuesday.
The Proteas T20 skipper was snubbed at South Africa’s inaugural SA20 auction and his form in India hasn’t helped with critics saying he simply isn’t a T20 player.
In India, Bavuma returned to competitive action after recovering from a June injury and has come under scrutiny with the bat after scoring a pair in the first two T20s.
READ | Bavuma: We can draw a lot of confidence from Miller’s performance
Bavuma is set to lead the Proteas at the T20 World Cup in Australia, which is scheduled to get underway from 16 October to 13 November.
Van der Dussen sympathised with Bavuma, stating that all professional cricketers go through these slumps.
“Temba and I have come a long way. He is a brilliant captain and a brilliant player. There are stages in your career as a cricketer when there are times when things go well and where it doesn’t,” Van der Dussen told News24 Sport at the T20 Women’s World Cup launch on Tuesday.
“In an international cricket environment, there’s a stage where there will be scrutiny and opinions. It’s part of the job and you step into, not only as a career but in that role as a leader. It’s going to happen. There’s no doubt in the team and organisation that he is where he is.”
Van der Dussen says that Bavuma is one knock closer to regaining his form and believes that he’ll do a great job leading the side at this month’s T20 World Cup.
“He is there because he is the best for the job currently. There is 15 guys going into the World Cup and he’ll be the captain, there’s no story there,” said Van der Dussen.
“Sometimes you play well and sometimes you don’t, it’s cricket and it happens. All it takes is just one innings to get you going and then it’s normal again.”
The final T20 against India is scheduled on Tuesday at 15:30 SA time.
Proteas T20 World Cup squad:
Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock (wicketkeeper), Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Rilee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Bjorn Fortuin, Marco Jansen, Andile Phehlukwayo
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