To idolize Sachin Tendulkar is common in the cricket world. To be a right-handed batter who can bat anywhere in the Top 5—albeit less common—is not unheard of. To endure the difficulties of growing up in a race-divided nation, to rise through the ranks of cricket as part of an underrepresented majority, to take responsibility as a leader when your team is in crisis, to lead your team into a Cricket World Cup as their best batter and first black captain, however, isn’t common.
It is grit. It is initiative. It is Temba Bavuma.
It wasn’t the Temba we saw in the 2023 ODI World Cup, at least the batter in him. Bat in hand, he was out of form, out of confidence, and out of sorts—but Temba the captain delivered like he always did. Despite losing two games, 2023 was arguably South Africa’s best performance in the group stages of the World Cup. More impressive than their 7 wins is how emphatic their wins were, and a hefty chunk of the credit goes to Bavuma for setting up a template. Yet, it was neither Bavuma the Batter nor Bavuma the Captain that caught the attention of the public—it was Bavuma the Black African.
As disgraceful as it is, critics fail to look beyond CSA’s transformative targets—what they like to call a “quota system”—as the case for Temba’s inclusion in the side. However, to this day, many are oblivious to Temba the Captain’s impeccable run in ODI cricket in the months leading up to the World Cup. Yet, for whatever reason, that Temba didn’t transpire in the World Cup. Amidst all the public and media backlash, what, if anything, has Temba done wrong? Why is the color of his skin a discussion?
Read more about CSA's transformation targets and the controversy surrounding Temba Bavuma in my article published in the Point ePaper.
Download the full issue below:
Comentários