Temba Bavuma after India series win (Source: AFP)
South Africa created history after defeating India 2–0 in the recently concluded Test series, with dominant performances in Kolkata and Guwahati. The Proteas outplayed India in all departments, becoming only the third visiting team ever to whitewash India in a home Test series.
The historic win also brought massive praise for South African captain Temba Bavuma, who has taken the team to new heights since becoming Test skipper. Among the many who applauded him, former star player AB de Villiers gave one of the strongest comments.
Speaking after the series, AB de Villiers openly admitted that he was not fully convinced when Bavuma was appointed Test captain. At the time, SA cricket was struggling, and expectations were low. But Bavuma exceeded them in remarkable fashion.
"South Africa lost that one Test in Pakistan which I think they should never have lost. But he didn’t play that Test, so he got off. I mean he surprised all of us. I’ve been in connection with my friends for years, for the first few years that he was named captain and I even was hesitant to say you know what I’m very confident about the call. Maybe it comes back to that old phrase, ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’. He doesn’t look big like Greame Smith with a whole aura walking and that presence where he can be intimidating,” De Villiers said in a video on his YouTube channel.
De Villiers Compares Bavuma's captaincy to MS Dhoni
AB de Villiers compared Bavuma's leadership to the legendary MS Dhoni, known worldwide for his cold temperament.
"Temba is very, very small. He’s a soft-spoken guy and hardly ever raises his voice. It just shows you the different styles of captaincy can be successful. I think it’s similar for MS Dhoni maybe back in the day also. I hardly everheard his voice. He was quite calm, didn’t speak much but when he did speak, I think people listened to him. I think that might be a similar case with Temba,” he added.
It is also important to mention that under his leadership, South Africa has been almost unbeatable in Tests. Bavuma has won 11 of the 12 Tests he has captained and has never lost a Test match as captain.
Earlier this year, Bavuma also guided SA to their first-ever ICC title, winning the World Test Championship after defeating Australia in the final at Lord’s.
