South Africa’s captain, Temba Bavuma, didn’t hold back when talking about the “unsavoury” comments during their recent tour of India. He shared how Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant apologised to him after making an offensive remark, and he also admitted that Proteas coach Shukri Conrad probably should’ve skipped the whole “grovel” comment.
Temba Bavuma Reveals Bumrah, Pant Apologised
The tour itself was mostly smooth: two Tests, three ODIs, five T20S. South Africa finally broke a 25-year drought by winning a Test series in India, though India took the white-ball matches.
“There was this moment where they said something in their own language about me,” Bavuma wrote in his ESPNcricinfo column.
“At the time, I honestly didn’t even know what happened. Bumrah and Pant came over and apologised, but I had to ask our media manager what it was all about.” Turns out, during the first Test in Kolkata, they called him “Bauna,” a dig at his height.
Bavuma’s got a pretty balanced view on these things. “Stuff gets said on the field, and you might use it as motivation, but I don’t hold grudges,” he said.
What Temba Bavuma Said About Conrad
He also touched on Conrad’s “grovel” comment from the second Test in Guwahati, which stirred up memories of Tony Greig’s infamous, racially-charged remarks from years ago.
Conrad apologised, and Bavuma thinks that was the right move. “Shukri took some heat for that. The media on their side kept pressing me to explain.
Honestly, Shukri was the best person to give context,” Bavuma said. “When I first heard it, it left a bad taste. But it just reminded me how intense and competitive this series was, and what it meant for our guys.”
Conrad addressed it after the ODI series and, looking back, said he should’ve picked a better word. Bavuma agrees.
He expected a tough trip to India, and that’s exactly what he got. “You don’t want to admit it, but there are scars from tours like this. You hope you don’t have to reopen them or relive those moments. Mentally, it’s tough. But with experience, you know what you’re in for.”
