IND vs SA 2022: “It’s a tricky one” - Makhaya Ntini admits Temba Bavuma’s position as South Africa’s captain for T20 World Cup on shaky ground

Makhaya Ntini has admitted that Temba Bavuma’s position as South Africa’s captain for the T20 World Cup is not a certainty owing to his poor performances in the format. According to the former Proteas pacer, the pressure has grown significantly on the cricketer after he went unsold at SA20 - South Africa’s upcoming T20 league.

There has been constant chatter over Bavuma’s spot as both player and captain in South Africa’s T20I squad. The 32-year-old does not possess an impressive record in the format. He was dismissed for a duck in the opening T20I against India in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, September 28.

South Africa were restricted to 106 for eight after being asked to bat first and lost the match by eight wickets. Following the defeat, Ntini was asked if he felt Bavuma's position in the T20I team was safe. He candidly told ESPNcricinfo:

“It’s a tricky one. I don’t want to lie to you. Especially now that he is not part of the T20 league that has been announced in South Africa, that’s another pressure that comes back to him. The T20 World Cup is coming up. Who is going to be the captain? Is he going to stay as a captain or are they going to change and give it to someone else?”

The right-handed batter has represented the Proteas in 26 T20Is, scoring 562 runs at an average of 25.54 and a strike rate of under 120. Despite opening the innings, he has only one fifty to his name.

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“When you’re not scoring, it becomes hard” - Ntini on Bavuma’s challenge as T20I captain

Ntini, who represented South Africa in 101 Tests and 173 ODIs as well as 10 T20Is, urged Bavuma to take a serious re-look at where his T20I career is heading.

He also backed the in-form Reeza Hendricks to make a comeback in the playing XI. The 45-year-old stated:

“It’s one of the things that Bavuma needs to think of. He’s got players around him. Bavuma is failing, so Reeza Hendricks should step in and look at this as an opportunity to come back and represent South Africa. He has scored four fifties in a row. Bavuma needs to think, where do I go from here now?

“When you are captain, you need to lead from the front. You need to make sure that everyone follows whatever you do as a leader. When you’re not scoring, it becomes hard for you.”

Hendricks (33) registered scores of 57, 53, 70, 74 and 42 in five consecutive T20Is between July and August this year. The first three came against England and the last two versus Ireland.