T20 World Cup | Temba Bavuma stands by de Kock’s decision, but unsure of his future in team

It was a very tough day for South Africa captain Temba Bavuma. Not only did he have to deal with the toughest match on the field against defending champions West Indies, but one of his senior players and most trusted compatriot Quinton de Kock chose not to be a part of the playing XI. de Kock arrived at the decision of opting out after he chose not to express his solidarity against racism by 'taking the knee'. 

Though his team overcame the West Indian hurdle, the battle that it would have to go through in the change room post-match and thereafter with regards to de Kock’s future in the squad is immense and Bavuma understands that. In the post-match press conference, Bavuma was bombarded with questions, the biggest of them being whether de Kock will carry on in the team or not?

“As a team, we’re obviously surprised and taken aback by the news. Quinton is an adult. He’s a man in his own shoes. We respect his decision. We respect his convictions. I know that he’ll be standing behind whatever decision that he’s taken,” he said about his first reactions to de Kock’s decision. 

“Look, I don’t know how far it’s going to develop. I mean, the decision that he’s taken is only today, so I can only speak about what has happened today. It wouldn’t be my decision whether to replace Quinton or to get a substitute. That would be probably the coach and the selectors."

"But as far as we stand, Quinton is still one of the players. He’s still one of the boys, so whatever support that he needs, whatever shoulder that he requires from his teammates, we’ll be there for him,” Bavuma added, saying that he defends personal choice within the team, but breaking the board’s protocol has consequences which will come into effect as and when they do. 

Asked when was Bavuma himself informed about de Kock’s decision, the 31-year-old said, “I think the trip was about an hour and a half to two hours. On that trip, I guess that’s where Quinton made his decision. We found out – I found out as the captain when we got to the changing room.” 

The South African team in this World Cup with a motto to win an ICC world trophy and Bavuma is still focused on that. The first Black captain of the side that tough conversations would happen but would not deter the side from its goal. 

“We’ve got a couple of days until our next game, and I think – those days I think will be tough for the group, but I think guys will want to know in terms of his decision, they will use that time to find out, to find it out a bit better. I mean, as I said, Quinton is an adult; he made his decision. You kind of have to respect the decision that he made, whether you agree with it or not,” he said. 

Another tough question was faced by Bavuma when he was asked about the views of a certain group of players who might feel triggered when the other group of players choose not to take the knee. Bavuma, who has played 44 Tests and 31 limited-overs games for the Proteas said that he didn’t want to fuel the fire, thereby indicating that players obviously do have problems. 

“I mean, I don’t want to be the one to be fueling any type of drama to say that a certain group had an issue with the fact that guys had a choice. We live in South Africa. We are governed by a constitution that allows the guys their freedom to express their views, their choices.

I really don’t think that I should be speaking to that again. So no, I’m not in the subconscious of any player,” he said. 

Bavuma lastly confirmed that the issue might be huge and media will keep discussing it, but the team would have to keep focusing as much as it can on matters on the field. 

“I think we’ll lose a lot of energy as players if we start giving 100 per cent to everything that is, I guess, being discussed outside of the team. At the end of the day, I think you guys are going to judge us by how well we bowl the ball and how well we hit the ball. That’s what you’re going to judge us by at the end of the day."

"I don’t think you’re going to be looking at the fact that we were martyrs or we stood for whatever cause we stood for,” said the Cape Town born.