Image Credit- Getty
Temba Bavuma, the captain of South Africa, may be
questionable for their semi-final match against Australia, which is expected to
take place in Kolkata on Thursday, following his hamstring injury suffered
during their league encounter against Afghanistan in Ahmedabad.
After the first innings’ nine balls, Bavuma departed
the pitch. He returned four overs later, but he was limping while fielding,
primarily at mid-off. Keeping in mind his duty as opening batsman, he
cautiously chased balls and hobbled as he jogged to speak with his bowlers, but
he did not go off again. Bavuma would not have been permitted to bat until the
same amount of time had passed or until at least five batters had been removed
had he spent a substantial period of time off the pitch.
“Obviously my leg is sore – don’t know to what
extent – but it’s going be have to be fine [for the semi-final],” Bavuma
said* during the post-match presentation after South Africa beat Afghanistan.
“Obviously I had that option of coming off, but I think as much as it was
our last group-stage game, probably it didn’t have a big bearing in terms of
the play-off.
“But I still wanted to be out there with the
guys. It was an opportunity for me to get some time in the middle [batting], so
I didn’t want to let that go. But also to keep leading the guys, keep
marshalling out in the field, [and] keep strengthening those relationships with
the bowlers. It was a bit risky, staying on the field – but that’s what I felt
was right at that time.”