South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma opened up about the unsavoury remarks which were made during the recent India vs South Africa Test series where Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant had referred to Bavuma as ‘bauna’ referring to his short height while the Proteas coach Shukri Conrad had said that they would made India grovel.
The first incident happened during the 1st Test in Kolkata when Bumrah and Pant were discussing going for an LBW appeal, referring to Bavuma’s height. The Conrad incident took place during a press conference of the second Test in Guwahati when Conrad used the term grovel which led to comparisons with former England captain Tony Greig’s infamous comments with racist connotations during the series against West Indies. Conrad ultimately apologized for his words.
“I know from my side there was an incident where they said something in their language about me. At the end of the day two senior players, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah, came and apologised. When the apology was made, I was in the dark about what it was about, I hadn’t heard it at the time and I needed to check in with our media manager about it.What happens on the field, stays on the field but you don’t forget what is said. You use it as fuel and motivation, but there are no grudges per se,” Bavuma wrote in a column for ‘ESPNCricinfo’.
Talking about the Conrad incident, Bavuma said that the South Africa head coach should have avoided that reference.
“Shukri also took some heat for his “grovel” remark. I was put under pressure by the media on that side, asking me to clarify the comments that were made. I thought Shukri was the man best positioned to give context to it all. The first time I heard about it, it had that unsavoury taste to it, but I think it just reminded me how tough and competitive the Test series was and what it meant to certain individuals within the group. Shukri spoke after the ODI series and put that issue to bed. In hindsight, he said he could have chosen a better word and I agree with him,” he said.
