Rassie van der Dussen says there were “no doubts” in the Proteas players’ minds that Temba Bavuma needed to be in the team at the recent World Cup.
Opener Bavuma struggled with the bat in India, scoring 145 runs in eight matches at an average of 18.12 and a strike rate of 73.60.
He was also criticised for some of his captaincy decisions, particularly in the three-wicket semi-final defeat to Australia.
“As a team it never affected us at all,” Van der Dussen told IOL when asked about calls for Bavuma to be dropped during the tournament.
“There were no doubts in our minds that Temba needs to be in the team and is the captain, just on that basis alone the value that he adds is humungous.
“If you look at the stats of this year, Temba still averages 50. If you’re judging a player, you judge them over a period of time and not just a certain few innings in the World Cup for an example.
“I think people are a bit shallow in their view. Obviously, you want all the guys doing well, but realistically that’s not going to happen too often, that’s why you have to function as a unit.”
WATCH: Bavuma hits back at critics
Van der Dussen said the criticism levelled at Bavuma was “ungrounded”.
“Look at Temba’s ODI numbers, it will tell you a different story. If you can take a few innings in isolation for criticism, then you can also take this year in isolation and also his ODI career in isolation and look at those numbers.
“It’s all about what your personal narrative is and if you’re looking for problems with anyone, you can find something negative if you look for that.
“From a team point of view, it really did not affect us but it might have influenced him because he wants to contribute, he wants to lead from the front.”
