Herschelle Gibbs lashes out at injured Temba Bavuma, calls him 'unfit and overweight'

The South African captain Temba Bavuma limped off the field after suffering a hamstring injury while fielding on Day 1 of the Boxing Day Test between India and South Africa at the Super Sport Park in Centurion. Former South African cricketer Herschelle Gibbs didn't mince his words while criticising Temba Bavuma's fitness level.

The diminutive cricketer suffered the injury in the 20th over of the day as he tried to stop a drive from Virat Kohli. After Bavuma left the field, Dean Elgar took over as the stand-in captain. Gibbs, who was one of the fittest players of his time, lashed out at Bavuma in a social media post, calling the 33-year-old ‘unfit and overweight to play’. Bavuma underwent a medical evaluation, and it was later revealed that he suffered a left hamstring injury. South African fans will hope that the Cape Town-born recovers swiftly as he has an important role to play with the bat.

“Ironic that the coach allows some players who are clearly unfit and overweight to play when he started off as proteas trainer in 2009,” Gibbs posted on his official ‘X’ (formerly known as Twitter) handle.

Bavuma's injury woes started during ODI World Cup, KL Rahul's knock helps India recover

Notably, Temba Bavuma returned to the cricket field for the first time since South Africa's heartbreaking semifinal defeat to Australia in the ODI World Cup 2023 last month. He was nursing a right hamstring strain in that game. Bavuma picked up that injury while fielding in their final game in the league phase against Afghanistan on November 10. The right-handed batter was rested for the white-ball leg of India's tour of South Africa. His first day back on international duty ended up being quite forgettable during the first Test of the series.

Meanwhile, India finished on Day 1 at the score of 208/8 in 59 overs. KL Rahul remained unbeaten on 70, saving the tourists from getting bowled out for an abysmal score in testing batting conditions. Kagiso Rabada was the star of the show for the Proteas as he bagged his 14th five-wicket haul in Tests and 16th overall in international cricket.