CSA director of cricket Enoch Nkwe doesn’t believe a captain should be axed after a few poor performances.
Proteas white-ball skipper Temba Bavuma, who went unsold at the SA20 player auction, is under huge pressure as an opening batsman having made nought, nought and three in the recent T20I series against India, followed by eight in the first ODI.
He did not play in Sunday’s second ODI due to a “mild infection”.
Calls have been made for the in-form Reeza Hendricks, who scored 74 on Sunday having not featured in the T20I series, to replace Bavuma at the top of the order in the shortest format.
Bavuma could also be moved down the order to accommodate Hendricks at the expense of a batsman like Rilee Rossouw, who hit 100* off 48 balls in the third T20I against India.
“Whatever the coaches decide on, I have to respect them, but at the end of the day I need to hold them accountable,” Nkwe told the Sunday Times.
“If they feel that tactically or in terms of the strategy it will work best for Temba to continue to open, we will have to wait and see what happens and whether he will be able to execute the plan and complement the team well. They are closer to him, they work with him on a daily basis.”
Nkwe believes “it is just a matter of time that Temba starts to fire and that will help him to find his feet or regain his form in ensuring that he plays his role on the batting side of things.
He added: “At the end of the day, there are decisions that need to be made. Whether technically or they need to move Temba around or they believe is still the right person to open the batting is a decision they need to make.
“We have had a lot of captains in the past that struggled, not only in SA but other countries. If there are things that need to change a little bit or a decision has to be made, there must be a valid reason for it.
“You don’t just drop a captain because of four, five or six performances. He has shown his value in the past, especially at last year’s World Cup where he steadied the ship. His leadership qualities came to the fore at a high-pressure tournament.
“We mustn’t forget about Temba’s character, he just has it in him when it comes to major events. We have had players, even though they were not captains, who had a poor run of form but eventually found the runs and we were all happy.”
