Kolkata (West Bengal) [India], November 12 : South Africa head coach Shukri Conrad classified captain Temba Bavuma as the "best player" in the Proteas setup ahead of the two home Tests in India, scheduled to commence on Friday at Kolkata's Eden Gardens.

Bavuma missed South Africa's trip to Pakistan for two Tests last month due to a strained calf, which ended the series level at 1-1. Bavuma has been instrumental in South Africa's success, scoring 911 runs in 10 Tests at an average of 56.93 since 2023. Conrad believes the return of their premier batter will bolster their squad and increase their chances of creating history in India.

"Yeah, Temba for us, he's our best player. It's as simple as that, which makes winning a Test match in Pakistan so much better for us that we were able to do it without our best player. So a lot of feel-good, a lot of confidence. And if you take the last, what, two years maybe, he's been one of the best players in the world," Conrad said while speaking to reporters on Wednesday.

Bavuma returned to the on-field action during South Africa A team's second unofficial Test against India A earlier this month. In the first innings, Bavuma floundered on his first ball against Akash Deep and returned with a golden duck.

In the second innings, during South Africa A's pursuit of a daunting 417-run target on the final day, Bavuma played a vital role with a 101-ball 59 to steer the visitors to a 5-wicket triumph. With Bavuma finding his purple patch, Conrad highlighted the importance for the 35-year-old to spend some time on the crease before the series.

"So his record speaks for itself, the calmness he brings to the batting unit, his leadership, his quiet demeanour. Yeah, we get a lot of feel-good from that, and he certainly brings a lot of confidence. And we're thrilled that he got through the A game as well as he did," Conrad said.

"I remember speaking to him after the first or second day when he got a first ball. We were hoping that he'd got some time out in the middle in the second innings, which he did. So yeah, all systems go from that front," Conrad added.

India's Test squad: Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (WK) (VC), Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Washington Sundar, Jasprit Bumrah, Axar Patel, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Mohammed Siraj, Kuldeep Yadav, Akash Deep

South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (C), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs and Kyle Verreynne.

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