There has been constant chatter over Bavuma’s spot as both player and captain in South Africa’s T20I squad. The 32-year-old does not possess an impressive record in the format. He was dismissed for a duck in the opening T20I against India in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday, September 28.
South Africa were restricted to 106 for eight after being asked to bat first and lost the match by eight wickets. Following the defeat, Ntini was asked if he felt Bavuma’s position in the T20I team was safe. He candidly told ESPNcricinfo:
The right-handed batter has represented the Proteas in 26 T20Is, scoring 562 runs at an average of 25.54 and a strike rate of under 120. Despite opening the innings, he has only one fifty to his name.
“When you’re not scoring, it becomes hard” - Ntini on Bavuma’s challenge as T20I captain
Ntini, who represented South Africa in 101 Tests and 173 ODIs as well as 10 T20Is, urged Bavuma to take a serious re-look at where his T20I career is heading.
He also backed the in-form Reeza Hendricks to make a comeback in the playing XI. The 45-year-old stated:
Hendricks (33) registered scores of 57, 53, 70, 74 and 42 in five consecutive T20Is between July and August this year. The first three came against England and the last two versus Ireland.
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