Bavuma defuses ‘grovel’ debate, brings up ‘bauna’ remark
Guwahati: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma on Wednesday downplayed Shukri Conrad’s controversial remarks that he wanted India to “really grovel”, through a prosaic reasoning that the head coach “will have a look at his comments”.
Former players from both India and South Africa, including legends Anil Kumble and Dale Steyn, have expressed disappointment at Conrad’s usage of the word “grovel”, which carries a historical context, to describe Proteas’ dominance in the just-concluded Test series which they won 2-0.
“Yeah, look, I mean, the comments or the remark made by the coach came to me this morning. My mind has obviously been focused on the game and making sure that we’re in this position where we’ve won. I haven’t had the opportunity, proper opportunity, to chat to the coach,” Bavuma said, trying his best to diffuse the situation and suggesting that Conrad is an old man, who should be allowed to reflect on his comment.
“But look, Shukri is close to 60 years old. He’s got a wealth of experience behind him. He’s got a lot of years. And I think he will, at some point, have an opportunity to speak to those comments. I think from a team’s perspective, look, we understand the magnitude of the series. We understand the intensity of the series.”
Referring to the “bauna” (slang lingo for a short man) comment made by Jasprit Bumrah to describe the South Africa skipper’s height during the first Test in Kolkata, Bavuma added, “And I think, as we would have seen in the series, there have been times where certain guys have crossed the line. But those are things that happen within the game. And I’m not saying that the coach has crossed the line, but those are things that happen. But I think he’ll have an opportunity to speak more on that.”
A 2-0 series win and that too in India is an “incredible” achievement, feels Bavuma, who termed it as a victory that would be right up there. “I think what makes it sweeter is the fact that we’re on the other side of the result. We know how dark it can be.”
