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'Don't Know What Metric Is To Judge Captaincy' - Temba Bavuma Responds To Critics

image-lp7x768oTemba Bavuma (Twitter)

Temba Bavuma posed a resilient defence against the naysayers and critics questioning his spot and captaincy future following South Africa's disappointing semifinal exit from the ICC World Cup 2023 in India. 

As the Proteas once again crashed out in the pre-finale encounter of a major ICC event after the painstaking defeat to Australia in Kolkata, Bavuma was at the forefront of extensive heat and flak received from the fans and trolls. 

While some lambasted the man's substandard performances with the bat during the tournament, some raised a question mark on his future as the skipper for the rainbow nation. 

Even worse, nasty comments were made on his downfall at the World Cup to denounce the racial quota policy used by Cricket South Africa (CSA) to overcome the black-and-white divide and ensure fair playing opportunities and representation of the country. 


Bavuma responds to critics after World Cup exit

Speaking to the 'Daily Maverick', Bavuma came up with a steadfast front to counter the words and remarks made in criticism of his individual performance and on his position in the side after a campaign where the rest of the South African batting line-up flourished until the knock-outs but he couldn't. 

Bavuma said he would rather listen to his players regarding his captaincy and position in the side and whether they deem him fit to continue in his leadership post. 

"I have said it from the beginning that if any of the guys stood there and said, ‘Temba, you are not the man for the job as captain,’ then I would happily walk away," said the 33-year-old. "These are the bunch of guys who we have been together since 2020. We know each other through and through, and we know what we play for. I am not the guy who is on Twitter or Facebook." 


"I don’t know what the metric is to judge someone if they’re captaining well. We won the most games in the group stage out of any South African team. We beat teams that haven’t been beaten in a while in World Cups so what metrics are we going to use to judge whether a guy is using the job as the captain?" 

Bavuma perhaps failed to properly overcome the sickness that had curtailed his World Cup participation. The player unfortunately dealt with a stomach issue and missed the two league matches versus England and South Africa, ending his tournament with just 145 runs in eight innings.