Hobart: South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma has conceded pressure gets far more intense when one is leading the side as there are a lot more critics and a lot more people keeping a close watch on the leadership skills.
Ahead of the team’s ICC T20 World Cup Super-12 Group 2 match against Zimbabwe in Hobart on Monday, Bavuma, who is “still recovering” from an illness that sidelined him during the series in India and affected his preparations here in Australia, said he had started to feel good and was ready for competition.
Speaking about the added pressure that comes with leading the side, Bavuma said, “I think the element of pressure, I think that’s something that’s not really unique to me as a player, as a sportsman. I think all players have to deal with that pressure. Yes, it comes in different forms.
“Obviously being the captain, it’s a lot more blown up. All eyes are on you. There’s a lot more critique regarding your performances and just how you are as a leader. Obviously, like I said, with the title of being captain comes that responsibility, and it’s not something that one can really shy away from. So with all the, like I say, the pressure that is upon me, I’ll face up to it as honorably and with as much gratitude as I can. But I think the element of pressure is something that all players kind of have to face,” said Bavuma.
Giving an update on his health, which suffered during the India tour and restricted his T20 World Cup preparations to just a couple of practice sessions, Bavuma said, “Yeah, I feel good. I was obviously out of action the last week or so in India with sickness. I came here to Australia still kind of recovering. But I’ve gotten over that. I’ve had a couple of sessions in the nets. Yeah, feeling good and ready for next couple of days, next couple of weeks.”
Following Zimbabwe’s fine runs against some big team in bilateral series, Bavuma opined the side cannot be taken lightly. “Obviously as a South African, we were happy that a fellow African country made it through the qualifiers. They obviously had good performances to get them to that point. We as a team, we just had our meeting, and we’re looking forward to that clash against them. Definitely not a side to be taken lightly. So we’ll prepare accordingly as we always do,” added Bavuma.
–IANS
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