Feelings of almost being let down: Bavuma reacts to SA20 snub 

Temba Bavuma opened up about his disappointment after not being picked up in the inaugural SA20 Auction earlier this week.

The South African captain had set his base price at Rand 850,000 (US$48,000 approx.) but did not find any takers each time his name came up. He was also a part of the accelerated auction but he couldn’t find any buyers.

Talking about the auction, Bavuma said that he is disappointed.

“I’ll be lying if I said that I didn’t have any feelings of disappointment,” Bavuma said while talking to reporters ahead of South Africa’s departure for a white-ball tour of India.

He also added that he was expecting to play a role in the tournament.

“I certainly was expecting to play a role in the tournament. From my side, there are definitely feelings of disappointment and also feelings of almost being let down in a way. I don’t think that comes from any point of entitlement from my side,” he said.

“This is probably not the right time”

Bavuma, who will be leading the South African team in the upcoming T20 World Cup, said that he is not diving deep into the matter as it would take his focus from international cricket.

“I am cautioning myself to not delve too deep into this whole matter,” Bavuma said. “As much as I’d like to speak more about it, this is probably not the right time. Our focus right now is on India and the World Cup. We are doing what we need to do there,” he said.

He also added his teammates have his back in the issue.

“The guys in the team, our friendship, our relationship goes far beyond just being team-mates. We are friends off the field. The guys just being there in terms of their presence for me has been enough,” he said.

The outgoing South Africa head coach said that he is disappointed about all these and added that he backs Bavuma 100 per cent.

“Temba Bavuma is our leader, and I back him 100%,” Boucher said. “Yes, there is a lot of talk on social media about all the stuff, about this and that; I don’t really care. He is our leader, and we back him in this team like you can’t believe.

“The guys were there last night, we were having a couple of drinks, and I could just see the energy around him because I understand the situation he is going through. The bottom line is we are on a journey, and we have been on a journey the last two years,” he added.

Mark Boucher will join Mumbai Indias as head coach for the upcoming season.