"Quite fresh and excited": Temba Bavuma on return to action after recovering from injury

Ahead of the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, South Africa skipper Temba Bavuma expressed his feelings following his return to the squad after a notable period due to injury. The first Test match of the series will kick off on November 27 and conclude on December 1 in Durban. The second and final long-format match will be played in Port Elizabeth on December 5-9.

"I feel quite fresh and excited as well to have the opportunity to be batting, to be putting on my pads, to be running on the field," Bavuma said as quoted by ESPNcricinfo. Further, the 34-year-old opened up about battling "mental demons" during his time of elbow injury. "It definitely has played in my mind. When you're injured and you start in a rehab process, it's always tough. It's just [about] trying to get over all those mental demons and get yourself into a space where you accept what it is that is happening and you try to deal with it. It has been a tricky couple of weeks," the right-hand batter added.

Bavuma's latest setback dates back to last month (October) in an ODI against Ireland. During the match, he fell awkwardly while trying to complete a run. He retired hurt on 35 during that game and didn't turn up to take the field later in the match. The elbow injury bears similarity to the one that Bavuma sustained on a T20I tour of India in 2022. Later that year, the injury ruled him out of South Africa's tour of England. In Bavuma's place, Matthew Breetzke was called in and received his debut Test cap in Mirpur

South Africa on Tuesday announced their 14-player squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka. According to ICC, a major inclusion in the side saw Temba Bavuma return as skipper, having recovered from a left elbow injury, which ruled him out of the recent series in Bangladesh. Two more changes in the squad that featured in Bangladesh, Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee are back in the Test side for the first time since the home series against India earlier this year.

South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (C), David Bedingham, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton, and Kyle Verreynne. (ANI)