Temba Bavuma has all the credentials to both captain and play for the Proteas across all formats, according to his franchise coach Enoch Nkwe.
The 29-year-old recently spoke out about his desire to represent South Africa in limited overs cricket and not just be considered as a Test player.
Bavuma bemoaned his lack of opportunities and also the fact that he was overlooked as a white-ball player. But Nkwe, who handed Bavuma the Lions captaincy this season, feels otherwise after watching him flourish as an all-round player.
Bavuma made history in 2014 when he became the first black South African batsman to represent his country at the highest level. He has also featured in two one-day internationals but is not generally seen as a shorter format player.
However, he answered most of the doubters with a wonderful 2018/19 domestic season, averaging 53.00 in Momentum One-Day Cup, 46.57 in the CSA T20 Challenge and just under 40 in the Domestic 4-Day Series.
More importantly, however, is that he captained the Lions to the double and Nkwe believes Bavuma has all the attributes to lead the Proteas in the future.
Meanwhile, Nkwe has also praised the continuous rise of spinning all-rounder Bjorn Fortuin. The 24-year-old made further gains in his development over the past season, finishing as the T20 Challenge top wicket-taker with 15 scalps, while he played a key role in the Lions’ first-class campaign where he ended with 23 wickets at an average of just under 23.
Fortuin was also called up to a Cricket South Africa conditioning programme that was named 10 days ago and Nkwe expects the player to debut for the Proteas at some point next season. – Report by Thahir Asmal
