Temba Bavuma on Sri Lanka, Decade and Pressure

Bavuma made his debut in 2014, during an exciting time for Cricket South Africa with the national dominating world cricket.

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The skipper addressing media at the Hollywoodbets Kingsmead ahead of the first test, says the realization of this decade is a bit emotional just looking back at his journey.

''That realization in itself is something I need to think a lot more deeply about, I am a bit emotional. Thinking back to 2014, making my debut in Port Elizabeth - we had the likes of AB de Villiers, Hashim Amla who were the main guys within the team, now we have the likes of Rabada, Keshav in the team and it is evolving,'' said Bavuma.

The last decade has seen the Proteas declining in test matches, Bavuma says the current bunch of players has potential to reclaim the glory days of South Africa in long formats. Starting with Sri Lanka this week.

''Potentially, definitely this is a special about the group, if I look at the different series from West Indies to India. There's always different individuals coming, looking to get players who would take the team to the next level. We have four or five games to do that,'' added Bavuma.

The Proteas have a huge task ahead, as they are desperately in need of a win in the upcoming series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. The captain says the team is ready and wants to make the country proud.

''I believe the team is ready as it can be, we had a good camp at the HPC last week. We came here to get used to the conditions. Now four games left in our test championship and every game is as important as the final would be. So the guys are excited and I am also excited to be back in the team. You should expect to see some good stuff from the guys,'' he expressed.

 Sri Lanka are not pushovers and they are also gunning for the final spot for ICC Test Championship. Bavuma discusses their expectations of the series and what they aim to achieve. He further says they are well aware of what to expect.

There is a huge expectation from the South Africans, as the Proteas need to win the series convincingly. However, Temba is of the opinion that players do not feel any pressure ahead of the encounter. He says it doesn’t feel like a Knockout game as it seems.