Shamik Chakrabarty in Guwahati
Shukri Conrad started the fire, Temba Bavuma tried to douse it.
On Tuesday, after the fourth day’s play of the second Test here in Guwahati, Conrad, the South Africa head coach, spoke about how his team wanted to make India “grovel”. Naturally, the word that might carry a racist undertone, caused controversies. On Wednesday, after the match, Bavuma was asked about Conrad’s comment, and the South Africa captain gave his observation.
“Yeah, look, I mean, the comment or the remark made by the coach came to me this morning,” said Bavuma at the post-match press conference. “My mind has obviously been focused on the game and making sure that we are in this position where we have won. I haven’t had the opportunity, proper opportunity, to chat to the coach. But look, Shukri is close to 60 years old. He has got a wealth of experience behind him. He has got a lot of years. And I think he will, at some point, have an opportunity to reflect on those comments.”
At times certain lines were crossed during a hard-fought series. There was an incident between Bavuma and Jasprit Bumrah during the first Test in Kolkata. The Proteas skipper didn’t directly mention it, but said enough between the lines.
“I think from a team’s perspective, look, we understand the magnitude of the series,” he started off. “We understand the intensity of the series. And I think, as we would have seen in the series, there have been times where certain guys have crossed the line. But those are things that happen within the game. And I’m not saying that the coach has crossed the line, but those are things that happen. But I think he will have an opportunity to speak more about that.”
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