South Africa captain Temba Bavuma did not mince his words as he said that logistically, things could have been handled better in the ongoing Champions Trophy.
With India playing all its league games and the semifinal in Dubai, South Africa and New Zealand have had to shuttle between the two venues.
While New Zealand flew back to Lahore from Dubai on Monday for the semifinal, South Africa reached late in the evening. “Probably, logistically things could have been more efficient,” Bavuma said.
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The South African players, however, got some respite in Dubai. “Some of the boys played some golf, some went for some sightseeing. So, I guess it was quite enjoyable from that perspective. For other guys, it was just another day to recover. The guys made use of it as best as they could. We are here in Lahore now and will prepare and get as ready as we can,” Bavuma said.
Asked whether it was indeed necessary for the team to travel all the way to Dubai from Karachi on Sunday afternoon and return to Lahore a day later, the captain said, “Probably it wasn’t that necessary in the end. But the logistics, the scheduling, it is what it is, right? I don’t think there’s much that we could have done to influence that in any way.
“We definitely don’t use that as an excuse in terms of our preparation or anything like that. Our mind is geared to what we need to do.”