South Africa may have to choose between AB de Villiers and Temba Bavuma

The stage is set. The all-important tour of South Africa begins tomorrow at Cape Town in Newlands stadium. And prior to tomorrow’s high octane clash, South Africa skipper Faf du Plessis upped the ante by saying they have a score to settle. Speaking to the media on the eve of the match, du Plessis discussed a wide range of topics, including the kind of pitch to expect and the permutations and combinations regarding the make of their final eleven.

With both Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock fit to play, there is going be one high-profile “sit out” stroke-player. It will definitely be a tough task for the Protean team management, head coach Ottis Gibson and skipper Faf du Plessis. Thus, if they wish to play an all-rounder they will have to make a choice between AB de Villiers or Bavuma.

Du Plessis certain Amla and De Villiers will deliver

When quizzed if he would prefer Bavuma or de Villiers, du Plessis failed to make an instant choice. Both of them are arguably the premier fielders in the current Test squad ranks, albeit that the latter is now nearly 34. So if Bavuma is axed, the team-management would be making a certain, noticeable sacrifice to their broad fielding prowess.

The Proteas have one of the most lethal teams on paper. However, an issue of concern for the skipper is that their marquee batsmen, Hashim Amla and AB De Villiers have not enjoyed an ideal time of late. De Villiers was out after he took a voluntary sabbatical, eyeing the 2019 World Cup. Amla, on the other hand, looked to be on a song in their previous series against Bangladesh.

According to Cricbuzz, speaking about the duo, the Proteas skipper said, “What’s important with AB is that he is fresh and hungry to score big runs. When you have got a high-quality player like himself, if you get the mental side of things right, he can be a good asset. The same with Hashim – he scored some good runs in the previous series. If you take that, he’s in really good form.”

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