SA v ENG 2020: "Yes, I'm black," Bavuma slams double standards in transformation after brilliant knock

He scored 98 runs in the Cape Town ODI.

Bavuma missed his second ODI by two runs in Cape Town | Getty Images

South African middle-order batsman Temba Bavuma has on Tuesday (February 4) admitted that being constantly viewed through the color of his skin has affected him.

The right-handed batsman has been dominating the headlines for various reasons, especially for getting regular opportunities in the quota of ‘black players’ over the past few years despite his continuous failures across the formats.

According to South Africa rules, the Proteas cricket team has to always field six players of their color, including two black Africans and Bavuma is in the side for the same reason.

Read Also: Morgan rues England's "way off the mark" performance in Cape Town ODI

Well, the 29-year-old wasn’t pleased with such talks and expressed his anguish by saying he is not in the team because his “skin is black” but for his performance in the game of cricket. He also chose cricket as a career option because of his love for the game.

His comments came after he played a key role in South Africa’s 7-wicket win over England in the first encounter of the ongoing three-match One Day International series on Tuesday in Cape Town.

Bavuma played a match-winning knock of 98 and also shared a 173-run second-wicket stand with skipper Quinton de Kock (107) to help the hosts chase down England’s 259 with 14 balls to spare.

Speaking at the post-match press conference in Cape Town, Bavuma said: “It has been hard. It’s not so much the dropping part, all players get dropped, and everyone goes through slumps of not scoring well. The awkwardness and uncomfortability from my side are when you are thrown into talks of transformation. Yes, I am black, that’s my skin. But I play cricket because I love it.”

Read Also: Proteas rout England by seven wickets to go 1-0 up in ODI series 

He further added, “I’d like to think the reason I am in the team is because of performances I have put forward in my franchise side, and also for the national team, whenever I have been able to. The discomfort was there, having to navigate me around all those types of talks. Players get dropped; I am not the last guy to get dropped. That’s something we’ve come to accept.”

The Proteas batsman also slammed the double standards in the transformation and called for a fair judgment, saying when the team does good then the black African players are also recognized for the transformation.

He explained, “The one thing that irks me is when you are seen through the eyes of transformation. When you do well, transformation is not spoken about but when you do badly, transformation is thrown at the top of the agenda. I have a serious problem with that.”

Bavuma signed off by saying, “We’ve got to be able to take the good with the bad. If transformation is bad when black African players are not doing well, then when we are doing well, let’s also recognize transformation for what it’s done.”

(With ESPNcricinfo Inputs)

 
 

By Rashmi Nanda - 05 Feb, 2020

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