NEW DELHI: South Africa’s inspirational Test and ODI captain Temba Bavuma believes that players refusing to shake hands does not send the right message for the sport.

Bavuma, who is part of the commentary panel for the ICC Men's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka, spoke to PTI on a variety of subjects including the no-handshake practice in India-Pakistan games, the Proteas’ unbeaten run in the tournament, his own future, and Indian batters’ struggles against spin across formats. He also reflected on his Test side’s historic triumph in India last year.

The diminutive batter, known for speaking candidly on social matters, also strongly pushed for equal opportunities for all in his country and underlined the unifying power of sport.

"Yeah it (no handshake policy) doesn't look good right if you're looking at it from the outside. It doesn't look good for the game of cricket, at the end of the day it's a gentleman's game, that's what we've grown up with, a certain behaviour that is expected of us...," he said.

"...but like I said that is from the outside. I am not not versed with the politics between India and Pakistan so I can't speak to that point of view but I think as a spectator who's just looking at it as it is without the full context, it doesn't hold well for the game of cricket," added the 35-year-old.

Landmark WTC win fuels belief of T20 WC squad

South Africa’s Test series victory in India after 25 years followed their drought-ending ICC World Test Championship title at Lord’s in June. Those achievements over the past year have helped the Proteas shake off the long-standing chokers’ tag.

Aiden Markram, Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi and Tristan Stubbs were all part of that victorious WTC campaign and are now in India again with a clear mission.

South Africa have emerged as the team to beat in the ongoing T20 World Cup and are firm favourites for the title after their heartbreaking defeat to India in the 2024 final in Barbados.

"...the confidence, the belief that we've done it before, we've gotten over the line there's guys who were there at the WTC final who are here within the T20 side. The experience of this T20 team from the 2024 World Cup, the hurt that would have come with not being able to go over the line that would have definitely been part of their motivation to make sure that things go their way this time.

"All the ingredients are there for the guys to go all the way. The fact that the guys are undefeated in the World Cup speaks volumes and they've really played good cricket from a batting point of view, from a bowling point of view, the guys have really been on top," Bavuma said ahead of the semifinal against New Zealand on March 4.

Global phenomena behind India's spin struggles

South Africa spinners Simon Harmer and Keshav Maharaj outbowled their Indian counterparts in the Test series last year. That was in the red ball format, but Indian batters have also struggled against spin in white ball cricket, including the ongoing T20 showpiece at home.

Bavuma feels that in the modern game, the attacking option against spin has taken precedence over classical defence.

"In the modern game, the attacking part of the game has been over-emphasized... I mean Test cricket is such that you need a strong defensive game to be able to handle the attrition that comes with it. Being able to bat for a day, two days at a time.

"...I think it's just a phenomenon around around the world (due to T20 cricket), a lot of the guys take the attacking option first and if that doesn't come off then you don't have something to fall back on.

"It's the mindset that is geared towards attacking and taking on the game and kind of forgetting or ignoring the defensive side. That's very much a T20 mindset...Having said that, it was a massive achievement for us a nation to win in India after such a long time," said Bavuma.

The right-handed batter may not be around for another tour of India in three or four years, but he is targeting the ODI World Cup at home next year and possibly leading his side to another World Test Championship final.

"2027 is obviously a big year for us. There's a potential WTC final. We have the home series against Australia, England and Bangladesh this year. The ODI World Cup we are hosting, there is lot of planning around that. So yeah I'm still fully much aligned and invested in South African cricket, I'm not going anywhere," he concluded.

(With PTI Inputs)