"I am not the guy who is on Twitter or Facebook" - Temba Bavuma fires back at critics of his role as South African captain

South African captain Temba Bavuma clapped back at critics who have been critical of him for his captaincy and poor batting form in the just-concluded 2023 World Cup.

Bavuma led the Proteas to a second-place finish during the league stages before a heartbreaking defeat against eventual champions Australia in the semi-final. Despite the side making a valiant effort in defending a lowly 212, several questions were asked regarding Bavuma's captaincy during and before the clash.

Bavuma defended his role in the team as quoted by The Daily Maverick and said:

"I have said it from the beginning that if any of the guys stood there and said, ‘Temba, you are not the man for the job as captain,’ then I would happily walk away. These are the bunch of guys who we have been together since 2020. We know each other through and through, and we know what we play for. I am not the guy who is on Twitter or Facebook."

He further questioned the metric used to judge a captain by highlighting the team's excellent showing during the 2023 World Cup.

"I don’t know what the metric is to judge someone if they’re captaining well. We won the most games in the group stage out of any South African team. We beat teams that haven’t been beaten in a while in World Cups so what metrics are we going to use to judge whether a guy is using the job as the captain?," Bavuma added.

South Africa won seven of their nine games in the league stage, including thumping victories over powerhouses - Australia, England, and New Zealand.

Temba Bavuma endured a dismal run with the bat in the World Cup, scoring only 145 runs in eight games at an average of 18.13 and a 73.60 strike rate with no half-centuries.

---

"I am not someone who is going to walk away from adversity" - Temba Bavuma

Temba Bavuma was criticized for playing in the semi-final despite not being 100% fit.

Temba Bavuma defended himself for participating in the 2023 World Cup semi-final despite his admission of not being 100 percent fit during the toss.

Unfortunately, the criticism of his playing the game grew louder when he got out for a duck in the first over of the contest. Earlier, Bavuma missed two of South Africa's league-stage encounters against England and Bangladesh with a stomach illness.

"For me to step down in a World Cup semifinal, that thought is strange. I am not someone who is going to walk away from adversity, I am not someone who is going to answer to calls from people shouting on Twitter or Facebook. Decisions I make will always be for the betterment of the team," said Bavuma.

He added that the criticism of playing with an injury only arises when the performance isn't up to the mark.

"Yes, I was not 100%, but if you know anything about professional cricket you will know guys don’t play cricket at 100% all the time. I have played games for the country with broken fingers and done well. People have never questioned [when] I have played a series with a groin injury and done well. So, for that to be used as an excuse for the [reason] of our exit at the competition is crazy, with all due respect," stated Bavuma.

Temba Bavuma's replacement Reeza Hendricks scored 85 and 12 in the games he missed during the tournament.

Overall, the 33-year-old has led the Proteas in 59 games, with 35 wins, 22 losses, and two draws. Entering the World Cup, Temba Bavuma was arguably South Africa's most in-form ODI batter, with an average of almost 80 in 2023.