South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has opened up about the on-field incident during the recent Test series in India where Jasprit Bumrah and Rishabh Pant made inappropriate comments against him.
During the opening Test, the stump mic caught Bumrah and Pant referring to Bavuma as a “bona” — a derogatory term for people suffering from dwarfism — while discussing whether to review an lbw decision. Cricket fans immediately slammed the Indian players for using inappropriate language.
In his column for an international cricket news website, Bavuma revealed that both players approached him with an apology, though he initially remained “in the dark” about what they were apologising for.
“I know from my side there was an incident where they said something in their language about me. At the end of the day, two senior players, Rishabh Pant and Jasprit Bumrah, came and apologised,” Bavuma wrote.
“When the apology was made, I was in the dark about what it was about, I hadn’t heard it at the time, and I needed to check in with our media manager about it.”
The South African captain added that while he accepts what happens on the field, he doesn’t forget such remarks.
“What happens on the field stays on the field, but you don’t forget what is said. You use it as fuel and motivation, but there are no grudges per se,” he stated.
Bavuma also addressed another controversy from the tour involving South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad’s “grovel” remark.
After the second Test, Conrad explained their late declaration by saying they wanted India to “really grovel” and bat them completely out of the contest. The word sparked debate due to its historical association with Tony Greig’s racially insensitive comment before the 1976 England-West Indies series.
“Shukri also took some heat for his ‘grovel’ remark. I was put under pressure by the media on that side, asking me to clarify the comments that were made. I thought Shukri was the man best positioned to give context to it all,” Bavuma said.
“Shukri spoke after the ODI series and put that issue to bed. In hindsight, he said he could have chosen a better word and I agree with him.”
South Africa won the Test series 2-0, marking their first Test series victory in India since 2000.
India bounced back to win the ODI series 2-1. In the T20I series, India clinched the five-match series 3-1, with one match abandoned due to fog in Lucknow.