South Africa's Kyle Verreynne (L) and South Africa's Temba Bavuma (R) talk between overs during the first day of the first Test cricket match between South Africa and Bangladesh at the Kingsmead stadium in Durban on March 31, 2022. (Photo by Marco Longari / AFP)
Wicketkeeper Kyle Verreynne believes having Temba Bavuma back in the fold will be a big boost for the Proteas for their Test series against Sri Lanka.
With a place in the final of the ICC World Test Championship at stake, the Proteas take on Sri Lanka in a two-Test series beginning at Kingsmead in Durban on Wednesday.
Crucially, the Proteas will have captain Bavuma back after he missed the recent Test and T20 series against Bangladesh and India following an elbow injury suffered in an ODI against Ireland in October.
In an exclusive interview with SportsBoom, Verreynne highlighted Bavuma’s massive presence in the Proteas dressing room.
“He has played over 50 Tests now and if you look at the last year or two or even three years, he has averaged over 50 in that period,” said Verreynne.
“He has been our best batter by a long way. Just the Test experience he has and learnings he offers the guys around dressing room has been really good."
"As a team, when he is on the field you get the sense of calmness. The aura that he brings to the environment. Even in Bangladesh, he didn't play at all but the calmness and level-headed approach he brought was awesome.
“It will really be nice to have him back on the park in this upcoming series, he offers a lot of value to us, especially with quite a young side. Really nice to have someone like him lead us.”
Verreynne added the Proteas were aware of what was at stake, and they were targeting a place in the World Test Championship final.
"We will take it game by game and day by day, that is the approach we are using,“ he continued.
”The message from the change room is very clear, we want to get to World Test Championship final. It is going to take a lot of hard work, and we will need to follow the processes, but the message is simple, and we will do whatever it takes to get to that final. As things stand, we are on track to do that."
The first Test gets underway at 9.30am on Wednesday morning.
IOL Sport