Pant, Bumrah apologised after on-field remarks, says Bavuma

South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has disclosed that India’s Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah personally apologised to him following remarks made in their native language during the opening Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata.

Bavuma, who led South Africa to a historic 2-0 Test series victory in India, said that while such comments are not easily forgotten, he does not hold any grudges. During the opening day of the first Test, stump microphones picked up Bumrah and Pant referring to Bavuma as ‘bauna’ while appealing for an lbw decision in the 14th over. The term is commonly associated with dwarfism and can be considered offensive when directed at individuals of short stature.

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“A series against India is always going to be intense, and when it’s heated, it makes it even more of a spectacle and motivates the players further,” Bavuma was quoted as saying by espncricinfo on Wednesday.

“As long as the respect is still intact between players, it’s all good with whatever happens on the field. 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 also addressed comments made by South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad during the second Test in Guwahati, acknowledging that the choice of words could have been better.

“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,” Bavuma added.

South Africa’s triumph marked their first Test series win in India since 2000, when the side was led by Hansie Cronje. Bavuma explained that the success was the result of months of planning between himself and Conrad, aimed at overcoming failures from previous tours in 2015 and 2019.

“In terms of coach Shukri getting the best out of us as players, that groundwork has been in play since we started. Shuks instils confidence in the players and makes them believe that they are the best. The premise is that if we play at our best, no one can stand near us.

“We have always wanted to prepare ourselves for these types of encounters. Between the two of us, there were months on end speaking about India. What type of team and players did we want? And what did we need to do to be successful? It wasn’t a case of getting to India and saying, ‘Okay, how are we going to do things?’

“The seed was planted long before the Test series. The fact that we did it two and a half decades later speaks to the magnitude of our performance and overall achievement. It’s another feather in our cap as a side, and we’re growing very well as a Test team,” he concluded.