South African skipper Temba Bavuma addressed the contentious remarks that were being made in the Test series against India last month, revealing that he received an apology from Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant.

Bavuma also commented on the “grovel” comment passed by Proteas head coach Shukri Conrad after the Test series win.

South Africa inflicted a 2-0 whitewash on India in the Test series, ending their 25-year wait. However, controversy erupted in the opening Test in Kolkata when Pant and Bumrah referred to Bavuma as bauna, which literally means dwarf.

Speaking to ESPNCricinfo, Bavuma shared that when both Bumrah and Pant extended an apology, he was unaware of it and had to check with the media manager.

"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 apologized. 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," said Bavuma.

"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," he added.

On the other hand, Conrad stirred a controversy by making use of the word “grovel” during the second Test in Guwahati.

Addressing the media after the fourth day’s play in Guwahati Test, Conrad declared, “we wanted to make India grovel” as he defended his team’s late declaration call.

The remark drew widespread backlash due to its historical context. Notably, the term “grovel” was infamously used by former England skipper Tony Grieg before a Test series against the West Indies in 1976. Grieg had said that he wanted to make the West Indies grovel, which riled up the Caribbean team so much that they ended up thrashing England in their den by 3-0 in a five-match series.

Bavuma admitted that Conrad should have used better words to make his point. "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," he stated.

"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," Bavuma remarked.