Temba Bavuma might be battling poor form and a hamstring injury, but the South Africa skipper had a lengthy training session, despite considerable discomfort, ahead of the side’s World Cup semifinal against Australia at the Eden Gardens here on Thursday.
While most of his teammates skipped the optional training on Monday, Bavuma, with a strapped right thigh, was seen training with intent. He did fitness drills, took a couple of laps around the outfield and also did simulated running between the wickets, gradually increasing his pace.
At times, he looked in discomfort and bent over to indicate something to the team physio Sizwe Hadebe, and strength and conditioning coach, Runeshan Moodley.
After about 15 minutes of warm-up, he headed to the nets and batted with a single stump and then used his bat. He faced the bowlers for about 30 minutes. Following the practice session, Bavuma left in a private car, possibly for a scan. The team management, however, didn’t give any update on his injury.
Bavuma was unavailable for matches against England and Bangladesh in the league stage and in his absence, Aiden Markram led the side.
Bavuma is suspected to have suffered a hamstring injury during the match against Afghanistan as he left the field nine balls into Afghanistan’s innings. Aware of his role as an opener, he returned after four overs to avoid a time penalty, but his movements were visibly hindered as he fielded with caution at mid-off. Bavuma managed just 23 off 28 balls in that match.
His batting in the tournament has come under the scanner. Bavuma has a highest score of 35 in seven innings at an average of 20.71 and a strike rate of 75.12.
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