Temba Bavuma, then a school student, recalls watching a young Rohit Sharma in the inaugural 2007 T20 World Cup, which India won under Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s leadership.
“We played against Rohit… I think it was in 2007, the T20 World Cup, I was still in school then. I mean, these guys have been around, so there is nothing new. These are world-class players,” he said at a news conference ahead of the second ODI.
“(Coming up against them is) nothing new, we have come across it. We have been on the bad end of it. But we have also had good times against them. It all just makes the series a lot more exciting.
“The inclusion of those two guys (Rohit and Virat Kohli) does bolster the team. Like, we said at the start of the series, these are two guys who have a lot of experience and a lot of skill and that can only benefit the team.”
Kohli’s 52nd ODI century and Rohit’s 57 set up a 17-run victory for India in the opening ODI in Ranchi on Sunday, giving the hosts a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
Bavuma heaped praise on Marco Jansen whose 39-ball 70 took South Africa to the brink of a victory in the game.
“From an all-rounder’s point of view, I don’t know where the rankings sit (but) I am sure Marco Jansen, in any one of the formats, will
definitely be in the top 10.
His contributions, with bat (or) with the ball (and) sometimes even both, they have been immense to our success,” he said.
“He is still a young guy, but he has had a lot of international cricket under his belt. He is only growing into his own and becoming a lot more comfortable in his skin.”
The skipper did not read much into South Africa’s loss on Sunday.
“We were 15 runs (17) short of them. The gap between the batting performances
wasn’t a big one. India
played well, their two stalwarts stood up but we were not too far off.”
Bavuma, who has led South Africa to 11 Test wins in his 12 matches as captain, said it was up to those in “suits” in Cricket South Africa to ensure more Test matches.
“All of us have been crying for more cricket, especially against the top nations,” he said. “The Test series (against India)... a lot of us would have wanted to see it going to three or four-match series. When it’s a side like India, they would have raised the standard, which would have forced us to raise our standards as well.”