Temba Bavuma said that playing in Bio-Bubbles has been tough and Cricket South Africa needs to be commended for their work.
South Africa captains, including white-ball and red-ball captains Temba Bavuma and Dean Elgar, on Wednesday reposed full confidence in their cricket board’s bio-secure measures ahead of the India series later this month.
Doubts were raised over India’s tour of South Africa when a new COVID-19 variant – Omicron – was detected in the rainbow nation last month. However, the BCCI has said that the tour is still on with the first Test being held here from December 17.
The South African team has been part of eight Bio-secure Environments (BSEs) since the outbreak of COVID-19 last year, including the home series against England, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
According to Cricket South Africa (CSA) chief medical officer, Shuaib Manjra, the board has “established world-class standards and measures to ensure that all players, staff and officials remain safe in this environment.” “Our main focus was to protect the cricket biosphere by managing strict entry standards and limited movement outside its enclosure,” he said in a statement.
Manjra emphasized that BSE has met the highest standards set by the National Government and CSA.
Manjra said, “What we have implemented in our BSE is a cordon sanitiser which provides complete and continuous protection to all individuals who respect and follow our very demanding guidelines and regulations.”
“Playing cricket on the BSE was a huge challenge for everyone involved in the game,” commented white-ball captain Bavuma.
“Everything changed from the length of our stay at the hotel to the way we train and play. We weren’t even allowed to high-five or hug each other when we celebrated wickets – that part of something It was easy to remember, more so than others,” he smiled.
Bavuma said that playing in Bio-Bubbles has been tough and CSA should be commended for its work.
Bavuma concluded, “I am confident that our BSEs are of the highest safety standards and the protocols have been set keeping in mind not only the physical well-being of all, but also mental health.”
Test captain Elgar echoed Bavuma’s sentiments.
“It is hard to believe that we have been dealing in these conditions of BSE for a year now, but anyone who has been directly or indirectly affected by the COVID-19 virus knows that if we want to continue playing So it’s a necessity. Cricket.
“It takes a toll on a player mentally and yet this team delivers great results and progresses – that’s something that I personally don’t think is being talked about enough.
“The measures that have been taken and the hotels have been selected keeping in mind the physical and mental health needs of the teams.
“We don’t know how long we’ll be working like this, but it’s heartening to know that when it comes to tour health and safety is a top priority,” Elgar said.
,