Facing India with Kohli and Rohit nothing new, but it does bolster them: Bavuma
Raipur (PTI): South Africa captain Temba Bavuma feels facing an Indian side with Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma is nothing new but it does bolster the hosts whom the Proteas had blanked 2-0 in the Test series.
Kohli’s 52nd ODI ton and Rohit’s 57 set up a 17-run victory for India in the opening ODI, giving them a 1-0 lead in the three-match series with the second match to be played here on Wednesday.
“The inclusion of those two guys that does bolster the team. Like we said at the start of the series, these are two guys who have a lot of experience and a lot of skill and that can only benefit the team.
"It is not something that we are not aware of,” Bavuma told the media ahead of South Africa’s training session at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Stadium here.
Underlining their experience in international cricket, Bavuma recalled watching a young Rohit in the 2007 T20 World Cup which India won as a school student.
“We played against, Rohit… I think it was in 2007, the T20 World Cup, I was still in school then. I mean, these guys have been around, so there is nothing new. These are world-class players,” he said.
“(Coming up against them is) nothing new, we have come across it. We have been on the bad end of it. But we have also had good times against them. It all just makes the series a lot more exciting,” he said.
Bavuma, meanwhile, said there was nothing for him to clarify on the use of the word “grovel” made by South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad during the fourth day’s play in the second Test.
“No, I don't think it is distracting (and) no it’s not for me to clarify,” said Bavuma, who missed the opening ODI.
Bavuma heaped praise on Marco Jansen whose 39-ball 70 took South Africa on the brink of a victory in the first ODI.
“From an all-rounder point of view, I don't know where the rankings sit (but) I am sure Marco Jansen, in any one of the formats will definitely be in a top 10. His contributions, with bat (or) with the ball (and) sometimes even both, they have been immense to our success,” he said.
“He is still a young guy, but he has had a lot of international cricket that is under his belt. He is only growing into his own and becoming a lot more comfortable under his skin.”
Bavuma did not read much into South Africa’s loss in the first ODI. “We were 15 runs (17) short of them. The gap between the batting performances wasn't a big one. India played well, their two stalwarts stood up but we were not too far off." Bavuma, who has led South Africa to 11 Test wins in his 12 matches as skipper so far, said it was up to those in “suits” in Cricket South Africa to ensure there are more Test matches against top countries.
“All of us have been crying for more cricket especially against the top nations,” he said.
“The Test series (against India) now, as much as there were two match series, a lot of us would have wanted to see it going to three or four-match series. When it's a side like India, they would have raised the standard, which would have forced us to raise our standards as well.”
“As players, we don't get involved when it comes to the scheduling, the negotiation, and all of that. Those are for, I guess, the people in suits, the Cricket South Africa."
On a lighter note, Bavuma said some of the South African players want to play a four-Test series as they are growing old.
“Some of us are getting a little bit old, so we're not going to go too long to make another four match Test series against India,” he said.
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'Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane...': Tharoor takes dig at failed US-Iran talks in Pakistan
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New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader Shashi Tharoor on Monday took a swipe at the "failed" US-Iran peace talks in Pakistan with an Urdu couplet, saying only god knows now what will happen.
"Ab kya hoga, ye rab jane; Na woh mane, na ye mane (only god knows what will happen now as both sides did not agree)," Tharoor said on X, tagging a post-talks video clip of US Vice President J D Vance, who led the American delegation at the negotiations in Islamabad.
The United States and Iran failed to reach a peace deal at their historic 21-hour talks in Pakistan, leaving the fate of a tenuous two-week ceasefire in doubt, with both sides attempting to hold each other responsible for the collapse of the negotiations.
अब क्या होगा, ये रब जाने
— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) April 13, 2026
ना वो माने, ना ये माने https://t.co/DYrXpa7C8h
Vance said the Iranian side did not accept Washington's terms for ending the war even as the US presented its "final and best offer".
Hours after the talks collapsed, US President Donald Trump said on social media that the negotiations with Tehran failed as "Iran is unwilling to give up its nuclear ambitions".
Trump said the US Navy will actively interdict any vessel in international waters found to have paid tolls to Iran for transiting through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route that handles roughly 20 per cent of global oil and LNG (Liquefied Natural Gas).
Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the head of the Iranian negotiation team, said it is for the US to decide whether it can "earn our trust or not".
The Iranian foreign ministry, without elaborating, said the US side resorted to "excessive" and "illegal demands".
The failure to reach an agreement has dimmed the prospect of reopening the Strait of Hormuz to stabilise the global energy marke
