South Africa captain Temba Bavuma downplayed his coach's "grovel" comment, stating it wasn't a distraction for the team.
Bavuma acknowledged the strength Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma bring to India's ODI side, noting their familiarity but
also their significant experience. He also highlighted Marco Jansen's valuable all-round contributions and expressed a
desire for more Test matches against top nations.
NEW DELHI: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma played down any need to explain head coach Shukri Conrad’s "grovel" comment
from the second Test, saying it was not a distraction for South Africa. After the fourth day's play of the second Test
between India and South Africa in Guwahati, South Africa's head coach Shukri Conrad had said that his team batted as
long as they did because "we wanted them [India] to really grovel, to steal a phrase". The phrase he was perhaps
referring to was the one infamously uttered by England captain Tony Greig against the West Indies in 1976.
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Bavuma said the team had moved on from head coach Shukri Conrad’s use of the word “grovel” during the second Test,
adding that he did not need to clarify anything about the remark. "No, I don't think it is distracting (and) no it’s not
for me to clarify," he said on Tuesday, as cited by news agency PTI. Bavuma missed the first ODI. The South African
captain also said facing an Indian team that includes Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is familiar for the Proteas, but
their presence strengthens the opposition. India lead the three-match ODI series 1-0 after winning the opening game by
17 runs, helped by Kohli’s 52nd ODI hundred and Rohit’s 57. The second ODI will be played on Wednesday. "The inclusion
of those two guys that 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," Bavuma said. "It is not something that we are not
aware of,” Bavuma said before South Africa’s training session at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Stadium in Raipur. Bavuma
spoke about their experience, recalling how he had watched Rohit during the 2007 T20 World Cup while still in school.
"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. "(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,” he added. He also praised Marco Jansen for his 39-ball 70 in the series
opener. "From an all-rounder 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 a 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
that is under his belt. He is only growing into his own and becoming a lot more comfortable under his skin.” Bavuma said
South Africa did not view the first ODI loss as a major setback. "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 11 Test wins in 12 matches as captain, said it is up to administrators in Cricket South Africa to ensure
more Test matches against strong teams. "All of us have been crying for more cricket especially against the top
nations,” he said. "The Test series (against India) now, as much as there were two-match series, 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.” "As players, we don't get involved when it comes to the
scheduling, the negotiation, and all of that. Those are for, I guess, the people in suits, the Cricket South Africa." On
a lighter note, Bavuma said some South African players want a four-Test series sooner than later. "Some of us are
getting a little bit old, so we're not going to go too long to make another four match Test series against India,” he