Temba Bavuma just opened up about India’s superstar duo and what he said is pretty interesting! The South African skipper shared his real feelings about facing Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. He spoke right ahead of the IND vs SA 2nd ODI happening in Raipur soon. You can tell he genuinely respects these two giants of modern cricket.
The Impact of Kohli and Sharma’s Return
So Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma were back in ODI action after their Australia series in October. First match back and boom – they absolutely destroyed South Africa’s bowling attack right away. Kohli went berserk with a brilliant century while Rohit Sharma contributed a crucial fifty.
India won by 17 runs thanks to these two legends doing what they do best. Nobody else in the squad brings that kind of experience and calm under pressure honestly. Having them back in the lineup just makes everything click differently for Team India.
Bavuma’s Honest Assessment
Temba Bavuma gave full credit to both Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma during his press conference. He admitted their inclusion makes India much stronger and harder to beat for any team. The South African captain knows exactly what kind of challenge these veterans bring to the table.
“The inclusion of those two guys that does bolster the team. Like we said at the start of the series, these are two guys who have a lot of experience and a lot of skill and that can only benefit the team. It is not something that we are not aware of,” Bavuma said
Bavuma talked about facing them many times throughout his international career over the years. He pointed out they’ve been around forever and South Africa knows their game pretty well. Playing against world-class players like these two adds real excitement to any series.
“We played against, Rohit… I think it was in 2007, the T20 World Cup, I was still in school then. I mean, these guys have been around, so there is nothing new. These are world-class players.
“(Coming up against them is) nothing new, we have come across it. We have been on the bad end of it. But we have also had good times against them. It all just makes the series a lot more exciting,” he added.
Looking Ahead to More Contests
Temba Bavuma wants South Africa to play more matches against top teams like India regularly. He believes facing the best teams helps his squad grow and improve faster. These high-pressure contests push players to raise their game to another level entirely.
The IND vs SA 2nd ODI is basically South Africa’s revenge match against Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Bavuma’s boys are fired up and desperate to turn things around after losing game one. Sure, he respects these Indian legends big time but that doesn’t mean he’s backing down either.
