South Africa’s ODI captain, Temba Bavuma, is set to return home on Thursday due to personal family reasons. Consequently, he will be unable to participate in the upcoming ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 warm-up matches against Afghanistan and New Zealand scheduled for September 29 and October 2, respectively.
In a significant development for Cricket South Africa, an announcement was made regarding the absence of ODI skipper Temba Bavuma in the upcoming two World Cup warm-up matches that the Proteas are set to play.
Before the World Cup kicks off, South Africa is slated to face Afghanistan and New Zealand on September 29 and October 2, respectively, in preparatory matches for the highly anticipated tournament. However, due to personal reasons, Captain Bavuma won’t be available for these warm-up games.
While Bavuma’s absence is a matter of concern, it’s important to note that it is currently limited to the warm-up matches. Only time will reveal whether he will be able to make a return for the World Cup itself. Additionally, Cricket South Africa has announced that the talented batter Aiden Markram will step in to lead the team in Bavuma’s absence. This update was shared with fans and followers via Cricket South Africa’s official Twitter account.
“#CWC23 TEAM UPDATE Proteas ODI Captain Temba Bavuma will travel back home due to family reasons Bavuma misses 2 #CWC23 warm-up matches vs Afghanistan, vs New Zealand, Markram will captain in his absence,” Proteas Men tweeted.
South Africa must be feeling quite confident as they head into the 2023 World Cup, having recently secured a remarkable victory over Australia in a five-match ODI series. Although they stumbled in the first two matches, South Africa came back strong, winning the final three games to claim the series.
Their World Cup journey kicks off on Saturday, October 7, when they face Sri Lanka at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in Delhi. It will be intriguing to see how the South African team performs in the absence of Bavuma.
