Bavuma hasn’t reached a half-century in the past nine ODIs.
Temba Bavuma, the captain of South Africa, will not play in the opening ODIs against Afghanistan on September 18 at Sharjah Cricket Stadium. The 34-year-old was forced to miss the first game of the series due to an illness, according to sources. The T20I skipper, Aiden Markram, has been given the reins for the team’s maiden ODI in his absence.
With the Champions Trophy in mind, South Africa is concerned about Bavuma’s performance in ODI cricket. Despite performing admirably for the national side in Test matches against the West Indies, he has not scored a single half-century in his past nine ODIs. Under his direction, the Proteas advanced to the ODI World Cup 2023 semifinals, although his performance was scrutinized because he only amassed 145 runs in eight games.
South Africa and Afghanistan will play their first bilateral series
The Proteas will play a bilateral series against Afghanistan for the first time. South Africa prevailed in both of the two nations’ ODI World Cup matches in 2015 and 2019. The Aiden Markram-led team easily defeated the opposition when they last faced each other in the T20 World Cup 2024 semifinal.
For the series against Afghanistan, South Africa has also rested a number of their starting players. A few cricketers, including Heinrich Klaasen, Rassie van der Dussen, Kagiso Rabada, and Anrich Nortje, have been given time off as the Proteas look to replace those players with quality players in mind for the 2027 ODI World Cup.
The rainbow nation will play a full-fledged white-ball series against Ireland after the three-match ODI series against Afghanistan. That series will also be missed by a large number of senior players. Van der Dussen will be joining the team in Aiden Markram’s place as he will not be playing in the ODI series.
