T20 World Cup 2022: "Captaincy is a privilege, not a right" - Aakash Chopra takes a dig at Temba Bavuma after South African skipper fails again

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra took a dig at South African captain Temba Bavuma after the latter registered yet another low score in the T20 World Cup 2022 Super 12 match against Bangladesh on Thursday, October 27.

Criticizing Bavuma for not stepping aside despite repeated failures, he termed the Proteas management’s decision to not pick in-form batter Reeza Hendricks in the playing XI as "almost criminal".

Bavuma’s form has been a source of massive debate over the past couple of months. He had a torrid white-ball tour of India, failing to register a single score of note. The right-handed batter was unbeaten on 2 in South Africa’s rain-hit game against Zimbabwe, which produced no result.

On Thursday, he was dismissed for 2 off 6 balls, caught behind off Bangladesh pacer Taskin Ahmed’s bowling. Taking to his official Twitter account following Bavuma’s dismissal, Chopra criticized the South African captain. He wrote:

“You can and must shut the outside noise…but it won’t be a bad thing to listen to the internal voice. It’s almost criminal to leave out Reeza. Remember…Captaincy is a privilege…not a right. #T20WorldCup.”

While the South African skipper has struggled miserably, Hendricks has displayed great form with the willow. He was the leading run-getter in the T20Is during the Proteas’ tour of England, smashing 180 runs in three innings at an average of 60. He also scored 74 off 76 balls in the second ODI in Ranchi during the tour of India.

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Rilee Rossouw ton lifts South Africa against Bangladesh after Bavuma exit

While South Africa lost their skipper early in the Super 12 clash against Bangladesh in Sydney, Rilee Rossouw (109 off 56) and Quinton de Kock (63 off 38) played terrific knocks to lift South Africa to an imposing 205/5 in their 20 overs.

The Proteas batted first after winning the toss. Bavuma was dismissed with only two runs on the board. However, Rossouw and De Kock added 168 runs for the second wicket, putting the Bangladesh attack to the sword. While the former struck seven fours and eight sixes, the keeper-batter hit seven fours and three maximums.

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South Africa vs Bangladesh playing XIs

South Africa: Quinton de Kock (w), Temba Bavuma (c), Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Tabraiz Shamsi

Bangladesh: Najmul Hossain Shanto, Soumya Sarkar, Litton Das (w), Shakib Al Hasan (c), Afif Hossain, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Nurul Hasan, Mosaddek Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Hasan Mahmud, Mustafizur Rahman