IND vs SA: South African captain Temba Bavuma RULED OUT of Cape Town Test
IND vs SA: In a big setback to the hosts, South African captain Temba Bavuma is all set to miss the upcoming New Year test against India after suffering a hamstring injury. South African coach Shukri Cornard confirmed the development after they defeated India by an innings and 32 runs in the Centurian test.
With Temba Bavuma already ruled out of the IND vs SA 2nd Test in Cape Town, veteran batter Deal Elgar is set to lead the South African side. Interestingly, the Cape Town test will also be his last swansong as he bids his final goodbye to the game of cricket.
Cornard confirmed that Bavuma didn't have a tear on his hamstring, rather it was a strain. He pulled up his hamstring during day one of the India vs South Africa Centurian Test. The incident occurred while Bavuma chased the delivery off Virat Kohli's blade. After pulling up his hamstring, Bavuma immediately left the field and he was continuously monitored by the medics.
It's worth noting that many fans criticised Bavuma for not walking into the field to bat in the second innings when all-rounder Marco Jansen was running short of partners at the other end. Jansen remained unbeaten at 84 runs and everyone speculated that the captain would walk out to aid his compatriot, however, this could never turn into a reality.
Defending South Africa's move to not send Temba Bavuma out to bat, Conrad explained that the batter was consistently under examination. It would have been risky to send Bavuma out, said the Protea coach. He also added that South Africa was in a good position with over 150 runs lead in the second innings.
"We were constantly giving ourselves maximum time so we could give out the right information. If we lost wickets early, he would have walked on. With 150 runs ahead, I felt it wasn't necessary to risk Temba," Shukri Cornard said.
"Bavuma was diagnosed with a left hamstring strain, not a tear, and will have the injury assessed in two weeks' time to determine his availability for his next assignment, with the Sunrisers Eastern Cape at the SA20," the coach added.
With his commitments with SA20 franchise Sunrisers Eastern Cape, Temba Bavuma is already unavailable for the two-game test series against New Zealand next year.
"He will not play in South Africa's two-Test series against New Zealand early next year because of his SA20 commitments."
The India vs South Africa 2nd Test is scheduled to commence on January 03 in Cape Town.
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