AB de Villiers Likens Bavuma to MS Dhoni, Hails the SA Batter’s Test Success

South African batter and Test captain Temba Bavuma is now one of world cricket’s most successful on-pitch leaders. Bavuma has won 11 out of 12 Test matches he has been in charge so far and managed to avoid defeat (1 draw) in the only game his side could not win within this run.

Bavuma’s run includes a comfortable victory over Australia during the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25 cycle. His side also achieved victory against India away from home while handing the hosts a series whitewash (2-0).

The skipper’s impressive record against top Test teams has drawn praise from former South Africa Test captain AB de Villiers and other top figures in cricket.  

De Villiers Heaps Due Praise on Captain Bavuma after Remarkable Test Run

South Africa lost a Test match to Pakistan in their current run; however, they managed to secure a tie in the series. Bavuma did not feature in that game, and de Villiers believe the result may have been different if he was available:

“South Africa lost that one Test in Pakistan which I think they should never have lost,” de Villiers said. “But he didn’t play that Test, so he got off,” he added. The former SA skipper expresses his surprise at Bavuma’s development and continued improvement on several fronts:

“I mean he surprised all of us. I’ve been in connection with my friends for years, for the first few years that he was named captain and I even was hesitant to say you know what I’m very confident about the call. Maybe it comes back to that old phrase, ‘You can’t judge a book by its cover’. He doesn’t look big like Graeme Smith with a whole aura walking and that presence where he can be intimidating,” de Villiers added during the interview at an SA20 event.  

de Villiers Believes Bavuma Proves that Size Doesn’t Matter in Test Captaincy

The former SA Test captain describes Bavuma as “very small” and “soft-spoken”; however, he acknowledges that these do not affect the current skipper’s leadership abilities:

“Temba is very, very small. He’s a soft-spoken guy and hardly ever raises his voice. It just shows you the different styles of captaincy can be successful. I think it’s similar for MS Dhoni maybe back in the day also. I hardly ever heard his voice. He was quite calm, didn’t speak much but when he did speak, I think people listened to him. I think that might be a similar case with Temba,” the former Test skipper added.

Another Former SA Captain Believes Confidence Behind Team’s Current Impressive Run

Former South Africa Test captain Faf du Plessis expressed his pleasure at his compatriots’ run of form. The former skipper believes confidence is a major driver behind their success in long-format cricket and admonishes the side to maintain their approach going forward:

“They are the No. 1 Test team in the world, and that means a lot. But confidence also quickly goes, when you play one Test match and you lose that confidence. Sport strains like that—one moment you feel like you’re in such great form, and then a week later, you feel like you’re out of form. So, it’s great that we’re coming in with it (the confidence). But how we deal with that will be very important,” the cricketer said.

South African Batters Confident Under Bavuma – du Plessis Suggests

The former skipper also said South Africa’s batting contingent benefits immensely from confidence currently keeping the side focused throughout games. He believes the squad’s remarkable win rate of first Test matches in series is behind their recent streak of victories in long-format cricket:

“When you start well, as a batting unit, you’ve got the confidence that you’ve got runs under the belt and you almost put the conditions a little bit out of your head. In the rest of the series, it will feel easier. Similarly, when you are under pressure and lose the first Test, the expectation is going to be hard on the team,” he added.

 South Africa Recent Record in Tests