As part of “a revamp within the leadership group of the national team,” according to Cricket South Africa, Temba Bavuma was chosen the first black African captain of South Africa’s Test squad on Friday. Dean Elgar lost his position as captain but is still a part of the team that will play the West Indies on February 28. Victor Mpitsang, the chief selector, was another victim of the restructuring; according to the CSA, he had been “released” from his position. When Bavuma was appointed the leader of the one-day international and Twenty20 international teams in March 2021, he made history by being the first black African to captain South Africa in cricket.
Elgar was selected Test captain at the same time. Test series victories against Bangladesh, India, and the West Indies as well as a split series against world champions New Zealand marked the beginning of Elgar’s successful captaincy. However in their most recent series in Australia and England, they were soundly defeated. Nevertheless, Bavuma received criticism for his subpar batting performance in T20 international matches, particularly during the T20 World Cup in Australia last year.
Bavuma will no longer serve as the T20 team’s captain, while he will continue to lead the one-day team. Enoch Nkwe, the CSA’s director of cricket, delivered the announcements and stated that it had been determined to reassess the selection process. Mpitsang was fired from his position. As a temporary solution, the selection process will be heavily influenced by the new national team coaches Rob Walter for limited overs and Shukri Conrad for tests. “Temba is a player that has vast captaincy experience both at domestic level and on the international stage,” said Nkwe.
“We trust he will deliver on all our expectations and help carry the team forward after some excellent work by his predecessor Dean during the same period.” At the same time I would like to sincerely thank Dean for all his commitment to the role over the past two years. “He helped the team navigate through some stormy waters and put them in a good position on the ICC World Test Championship table.” For the two Test matches against the West Indies, Nkwe selected a 15-man team.
Theunis de Bruyn has retired, leaving just five players from the losing series in Australia in December and January: fast bowler Lungi Ngidi, batters Sarel Erwee, Rassie van der Dussen, and Khaya Zondo; wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne. Uncapped While Keegan Petersen and Ryan Rickelton will likely make their opening batting debuts after missing the Australian tour due to injury, Tony de Zorzi is also expected to make his debut.
The batsman Aiden Markram, the all-rounder Wiaan Mulder, and the spinner Senuran Muthusamy, whose only two Test matches were played in India in 2019, are all called back. As a result of Rickelton’s exclusion from the Australia tour, Mpitsang came under fire. The batsman claimed he was kept out due to concerns about an ankle issue, despite the player claiming he was healthy and going on to score heavily in domestic cricket during the tour.
South Africa squad:Temba Bavuma (capt), Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen (wkt), Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton.