Graeme Smith slams Faf du Plessis and South Africa for using Temba Bavuma as proxy captain

South Africa lost the toss in the first couple of Tests in Visakhapatnam and Pune, and were put in to bowl first. Thereafter, India racked up massive score in the first innings, therefore making it tough for the Proteas, who ended up losing both the contests. Losing the toss repeatedly would’ve frustrated Faf du Plessis, the skipper of the visiting team, and he took a unique step.

During the toss in the third Test in Ranchi, he brought Temba Bavuma as a proxy captain to change his fortunes. Speaking to the media on the eve of the contest, Du Plessis gave a hint about the same. He had lost nine straight tosses in Asia before the third Test. The move to bring Bavuma didn’t work out as Du Plessis lost the loss and the Proteas were put in to field first at the JSCA Stadium.

Smith unhappy with Faf du Plessis

In the meantime, Graeme Smith, the former South African skipper, was baffled by the move. The veteran southpaw termed it as something ‘pathetic’ and slammed the mentality of cricket in the country. As per Smith, a captain owns his position and shouldn’t tamper with the same.

“It was a quirky moment but for me, it was a little bit pathetic. It just shows the mindset of the South African side. I didn’t enjoy seeing that. I would rather see the South Africa captain stand there, own his position,” Smith was quoted as saying in Star Sports.

“You know, they are looking at the wrong places for the reasons they have lost the game. Unfortunately, they haven’t played well enough. Yes, winning the toss in the sub-continent is a nice thing to do but if you play well enough, you can still compete,” he added.

As far as the game is concerned in Ranchi, it was a different story from how things panned out in Vizag and Pune. Kagiso Rabada removed Mayank Agarwal and Cheteshwar Pujara in the first nine overs to put pressure on the home team. Then it was the turn of Anrich Nortje to pin opposition captain Virat Kohli in front. Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane then got India back into the game.

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