Temba Bavuma appointed as Test captain of South Africa as Proteas announce squad for West Indies series; steps down as T20I skipper

The 32-year-old Temba Bavuma has been named the new Test captain of South Africa. Dean Elgar was the captain of the Proteas previously. He led the side in 17 Tests where they won nine matches, lost seven, and drew one. Apart from being named the Test captain of the side, Bavuma will also lead the side in ODIs. He, however, has taken a step back from the T20I captaincy.

The decision to step back from T20I captaincy comes after South Africa’s poor performance in the last two T20 World Cups. The 32-year-old will be taking over as the skipper in red-ball cricket following Elgar’s decent showing as captain in the longest format. Elgar led the Proteas to a Test series win against India but was unable to win in England and Australia.

There have been several changes to the South African set-up following their losses in the last two series. There have been several reports that JP Duminy could make his way into the team as the squad’s batting coach. 

Introducing the new #Proteas Test captain - Temba Bavuma 💪

He remains captain of the ODI side while he has opted to relinquish the captaincy of the T20I side. #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/WgsbHhEgss

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) February 17, 2023

Bavuma will lead South Africa against the West Indies in the Test series

After defeating England in a three-match ODI series, South Africa will next take on the West Indies, who are also coming off a series win against Zimbabwe. The Windies drew the first match of the series against Zimbabwe but dominated the Chevrons in the final game to take the series win.

The Proteas lost only one of their games in the series against England; Bavuma was the star of the second game with his match-winning knock of 109 off 102 balls. The 32-year-old will now lead the team in the Test series against the West Indies. The series is set to commence on February 28.

South Africa's Test squad for the West Indies series:

Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Dean Elgar, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Keegan Petersen, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton