‘It does bolster India’: Bavuma acknowledges Virat-Rohit effect

raipur: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma feels facing an Indian side with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is nothing new but it does bolster the hosts whom the Proteas had blanked 2-0 in the Test series.

Kohli’s 52nd ODI ton and Rohit’s 57 set up a 17-run victory for India in the opening ODI, giving them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with the second match to be played here on Wednesday.

“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 told the media ahead of South Africa’s training session at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Stadium here.

Underlining their experience in international cricket, Bavuma recalled watching a young Rohit in the 2007 T20 World Cup which India won as a school student.

“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,” he said.

“(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 said.

Bavuma, meanwhile, said there was nothing for him to clarify on the use of the word “grovel” made by South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad during the fourth day’s play in the second Test.

“No, I don’t think it is distracting (and) no it’s not for me to clarify,” said Bavuma, who missed the opening ODI.

Bavuma heaped praise on Marco Jansen whose 39-ball 70 took South Africa on the brink of a victory in the first ODI.

“From an all-rounder point of view, I don’t know where the rankings sit (but) I am sure Marco Jansen, in any one of the formats will definitely be in a top 10. His contributions, with bat (or) with the ball (and) sometimes even both, they have been immense to

our success,” he said.