Proteas captain Temba Bavuma says cricket can now finally be the main ding again, after their off-field issues have been ironed out.
Proteas coach Mark Boucher was charged with gross misconduct for racism allegations against him earlier this year, but Boucher has since been cleared of the allegations.
With the team leaving for India, where they’ll play five T20’s this month, today, Bavuma says: “I think there is a lot of relief within the whole cricket fraternity that it seems as if these off-field issues have been resolved and put to bed.
“Now there is space for everyone to focus on cricket and what happens on the field.”
🔟days to go 🏏#INDvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/jE6Rewcc9R
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) May 31, 2022
Bavuma says it wasn’t easy for the team during months of off-field issues which arose during the Social Justice Nation Building hearings .
He says: “It was a tough time for the team, the managers, but we handled it as well as we could.
“Just going back over the months, the conversations we had made sure the guys were in the right space to make sure there weren’t underlying issues. It helped us deal with the whole situation.
“Now we welcome the fact that we can focus on cricket and invest as much energy into that and not off-field issues.”
Welcome to the #Proteas, Tristan Stubbs 🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦![CDATA[]]>💚#INDvSA #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/EJWx8agZKV
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) June 1, 2022
South Africa kick off their tour against India with the first T20 on June 9.