Ex-South African captain AB de Villiers, in a recent video, admitted that Temba Bavuma's performance as a Test captain surprised him. The veteran player shared that he was not very confident about Bavuma's ability when the latter was announced as captain in 2023. Notably, Temba Bavuma took over the South African team when they were going through a tough time in Test cricket.
Additionally, AB de Villiers compared the SA Test skipper to former Indian team captain M.S. Dhoni. The ex-RCB player noted that Bavuma handled every situation with a similar calm and composed demeanor as Dhoni.
AB de Villiers admitted that one should not judge a book by its cover, as Bavuma proved him wrong by becoming a successful Test format captain.
In a video with Ravichandran Ashwin, he shared, "He has surprised all of us. I’ve spoken to my friends about it for years. For the first few years after he was named captain, I was hesitant to say I was confident about the call. Maybe it comes back to the old phrase: You can’t judge a book by its cover."
de Villiers added, "He doesn’t look like this big Graeme Smith with the aura and intimidating presence. Temba is a small, soft-spoken guy; he hardly ever raises his voice. It shows you that different styles of captaincy can be successful. I think it was similar with MS Dhoni back in the day. I hardly ever heard his voice. He was calm, didn’t speak much, but when he did, people listened. I think it might be the same with Temba. He earns respect by being calm."
The SA skipper has maintained a near-perfect record since becoming South Africa's captain for the Test format. His side has won 11 out of 12 test matches since his appointment. Additionally, the Proteas lifted the ICC World Test Championship trophy after beating Australia at Lord's earlier this year.
