South Africa’s cricket captain Temba Bavuma
Credit: PTI File Photo
Johannesburg: South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has opened up about the "unsavoury" remarks made during his team's recent tour of India, revealing that he received an apology from Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant for an offensive comment, while acknowledging that Proteas coach Shukri Conrad should have avoided the infamous "grovel" reference.
In a largely tension-free tour that comprised two Tests, three ODIs and five T20 Internationals, South Africa ended a 25-year wait to win in the longest format in India before losing both the white-ball rubbers.
"I know from my side there was an incident where they said something in their language about me. At the end of the day two senior players, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah, came and apologised," Bavuma wrote in a column for 'ESPNCricinfo'.
"When the apology was made, I was in the dark about what it was about, I hadn't heard it at the time and I needed to check in with our media manager about it," he added, referring to an incident during the opening Test in Kolkata where Bumrah and Pant called him "Bauna", referring to his short height.
"What happens on the field, stays on the field but you don't forget what is said. You use it as fuel and motivation, but there are no grudges per se."
Bavuma then talked about Conrad's comment during the second Test in Guwahati. Conrad had stated that the visitors wanted to make the Indian team grovel, which led to comparisons with former England captain Tony Greig's infamous comments with racist connotations during the series against West Indies.
Conrad later apologised and Bavuma said even he felt better words should have been used by his usually measured coach.
"Shukri also took some heat for his "grovel" remark. I was put under pressure by the media on that side, asking me to clarify the comments that were made. I thought Shukri was the man best positioned to give context to it all," Bavuma said.
"The first time I heard about it, it had that unsavoury taste to it, but I think it just reminded me how tough and competitive the Test series was and what it meant to certain individuals within the group.
"Shukri spoke after the ODI series and put that issue to bed. In hindsight, he said he could have chosen a better word and I agree with him," he added.
Bavuma said he expected a tough series in India and it is exactly what his team encountered.
"You don't want to admit it as such but there are scars that still kind of live there. You just hope that you don't reopen those wounds or relive those moments. There was that from a mental point of view, but also, with past experience, you know how tough it's going to be," he said.