Raipur (Chhattisgarh) [India], December 2 : Ahead of the second ODI between India and South Africa, Proteas batter Temba Bavuma, who will be returning to lead the side at Raipur after missing first match due to illness, is not too concerned about his batting position, saying he is "easy whichever way is best" as long as "he is still contributing".
India is 1-0 up in the series heading to Raipur after the exploits of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and Kuldeep Yadav downed an Aiden Markram-led Proteas unit, which fell 17 runs short of a run-chase of 350 runs, despite fighting knocks from Matthew Breetzke, Marco Jansen and Corbin Bosch.
In the Ranchi ODI, Proteas had the opening combination of Ryan Rickelton and Markram, with Quinton de Kock at number three. With the series' outcome to be decided, Proteas would be aiming to give an experienced duo of Bavuma and QDK a go at the top. Markram and Rickelton have opened in seven innings together, scoring 306 runs at an average of 43.71. But it is de Kock and Bavuma's pair which has been the second-best for Proteas since 2016, with over 1,000 runs at an average of 56.42 in 19 innings.
Speaking ahead of the match, Bavuma said during the presser, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo, "Where I fit in, generally being in that top three, I am easy whichever way is best for the team, as long as I am still contributing.
"At the moment, it is about creating depth. There is versatility in that guys who generally bat at the top of their order have been used in the middle. In this team, a guy like Matthew Breetzke, who generally sees himself at the top in one-day cricket, but he has doing that job more than well now at number four, A guy like Tony (de Zorzi) - he's getting that opportunity to bat at five," he added.
Bavuma also had a fine and long nets session at Raipur, confirming a full return to health after his illness.
Despite the absence of Heinrich Klaasen (retired), Tristan Stubbs (dropped) and David Miller (not a part of the squad), Proteas have managed to create a top five using five opening batter options, with an explosive Dewald Brevis at six.
Bavuma spoke on the reasoning why the Proteas squad is filled with top-order options, saying that the team needs a "little bit of batsmanship" in the age of crazy six-hitting leading upto the 2027 ODI World Cup, to be hosted by South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.
"Going back to South Africa, there's always that element of batsmanship that you need. I know there's a big craze about guys hitting sixes in the middle order, but you need a little bit of batsmanship. A guy like Tony, he has the characteristics. I guess now it is just to keep putting on the performances to justify why he should do that," he added.
In 21 ODIs and 20 innings for Proteas, Tony has scored 688 runs at an average of 36.21, with a century and two fifties, a strike rate of 97.72, and a strong game against spin, rotating the strike well. Proteas feels they need such players as they build their squad for the home World Cup in 2027.
The tournament is less than two years away, and Proteas will be playing just nine ODIs at home after this series as their match practice heading into the World Cup, as per their Future Tour Programme. The game time could increase as FTP runs till April 2027, and WC will be held from October onwards.
Bavuma said that, leading into the home WC, it is about "filling in the gaps" with the players they have, so someone can step up easily if a senior player faces injury.
"Every game we play now is a big lead-up opportunity. It's about filling in the gaps with guys who have left," Bavuma said.
"Especially from a resource point of view, we want to make sure if we do have a situation where one of our main bowlers is out, that we do have young guys to step in. We are seeing guys like Nandre Burger, who are putting up their hands. So, creating depth and then seeing where guys can be filling in those roles," he added.
With pacer spearhead Kagiso Rabada out of the series due to rib injury, it was Marco Jansen and Nandre Burger who led the attack, with Ottneil Baartman and Corbin Bosch also helping out with their quality pace and seam.
Proteas also have Lungi Ngidi, who could also play at some stage, but for now, Proteas is choosing to take the all-rounder route, with both Jansen and Bosch around. The duo played a crucial role in giving India a major scare after they had Proteas down at 130/5 while chasing 350 runs, slamming fifties. Jansen had a memorable all-round performance at Guwahati, scoring a hard-hitting 93 and taking a six-wicket haul, sealing his spot as one of Proteas' most premium players after helping them to a Test series win in India after 25 years.
"I do not know where the rankings sit, but I am sure Marco Jansen in any one of those formats will definitely be in the top 10. His contributions with the bat, with the ball, sometimes even both, have been immense to our success. Marco is still a young guy, but he has had a lot of international cricket that is under his belt, and he is only growing into his own, and he is becoming a lot more comfortable in his skin," he concluded.
Squads:

India Squad: Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Washington Sundar, KL Rahul(w/c), Ravindra Jadeja, Harshit Rana, Arshdeep Singh, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Rishabh Pant, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Dhruv Jurel, Tilak Varma

South Africa Squad: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma(c), Quinton de Kock(w), Matthew Breetzke, Tony de Zorzi, Dewald Brevis, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Ottneil Baartman, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Rubin Hermann.