All eyes on Temba Bavuma as he makes SA20 debut on Friday

Durban’s Super Giants may have found some much-needed form in beating MI Cape Town in Durban on Thursday evening, with captain Quinton de Kock scoring a scintillating 63 off 41, but most cricketing eyes will be on Temba Bavuma in Friday’s SA20 game at the same venue, at 5.30pm.

Proteas white-ball captain Bavuma will make his tournament debut for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape, who added the opener to their squad following the Proteas’ ODI series win against England.

Bavuma is likely to open the batting for the Sunrisers in their match against the Super Giants.

The Super Giants will be full of confidence after chasing down 166 with a ball to spare against the Cape Town side on Thursday.

The Proteas limited-overs skipper was overlooked at the SA20 auction late last year and also didn’t get picked as a wildcard before the tournament started in early January.

But recent scores of 36, 109 and 35 against England in the ODI series grabbed the attention of cricket fans, including the Sunrisers. He will now feature for the side in their remaining games against Durban’s Super Giants (today) and Joburg Super Kings (Sunday) before the playoffs.

Bavuma has had a difficult time of late, failing regularly with the bat for the Proteas in T20 cricket, including at the World Cup last year, when South Africa were eliminated from the tournament after suffering a shock loss by the Netherlands.