“My grandmother named me ‘Temba’ because it means ‘hope’. Hope of our community, hope of our country.”
South Africa captain Temba Bavuma said these things about himself. A 35-year-old black player from Cape Town has made South Africa the world test champion with his batting and captaincy. The biggest contribution to this historic victory was Aiden Markram’s brilliant batting of 136 runs in the fourth innings.
At the same time, captain Temba Bavuma also played an important innings of 66 runs in the fourth innings, which played an important role in taking South Africa to the target.
This was even more special for Temba as a captain. This was South Africa’s ninth victory in the 10 Test matches played under his leadership, while one match was a draw. So far in history, only England’s Percy Chapman has been the captain who had registered the same number of wins in his first 10 Test matches.
Why did Bavuma have to face humiliation?
This victory was not just a story of winning a trophy.
When South Africa created history by defeating Australia in the 2025 World Test Championship final, it was not just a victory of cricket but of change.
Captain Temba Bavuma is the country’s first permanent black Test captain.
The confidence and restraint with which he led the team became a symbolic moment for a country that has been struggling with the history of apartheid.
Temba Bavuma was often called a ‘quota player’ in South African cricket. Critics believed that he was included in the team on the basis of color, not performance.
In a Test series against England in 2019, controversy erupted when then captain Faf du Plessis chose Rassie van der Dussen instead of Bavuma.
Allegations were made that South Africa fielded only four non-white players in the first two Tests, while the target was six.
Faf said in his defense, “Team selection is based on form, not color.”
When 'quota players' became a national debate
Bavuma’s selection was repeatedly criticized on social media and in many media institutions.
He was constantly ignored in the IPL and every failure in the team was presented as a ‘failure of quota policy’, which Bavuma had to constantly face.
The irony is that the player who scored a century for the country, captained the Test team and made it a champion had to repeatedly prove his ability.
But first let’s talk about the quota provision applicable in the South African cricket team. The quota provision is a selection policy in South African cricket that aims to ensure racial diversity in the team. Its purpose is to give equal opportunities to communities neglected during the apartheid era—such as black Africans, coloured and Indian-origin players. Under this, it is mandatory for teams to include a certain number of ‘non-white’ players every season, so that the game can become more inclusive and socially balanced.
It started informally in 1998, when Cricket South Africa adopted a policy to promote ‘non-white players’. In the year 2002, this quota provision was formally implemented in domestic cricket and from 2016 it became binding at the international level as well.
Under this, it was made mandatory to include an average of six ‘non-white’ players in the playing eleven.
Among these also, it is necessary to have at least two black African players.
The other side of the quota in the team
However, another side of the quota policy was that some talented players had to leave the country.
Kevin Pietersen wrote in his book Crossing the Boundary that he was dropped from the KwaZulu-Natal team because an informal racial quota policy was in place in selection.
For this reason, he left South Africa and started his cricket career in England.
Many talented white players like Pietersen and Andrew Strauss played more than 100 Test matches for England. Many of them said that they were deprived of selection on the basis of color at the domestic level.
This controversy shows that the quota policy has been challenging for both sides – on the one hand some did not get opportunities, while on the other hand those who got opportunities had to fight again and again for their ‘legitimacy’.
Double challenge: The mental struggle of 'quota players'
A ‘quota player’ not only has to perform well, but also has to prove time and again that he is in the team not because of any privilege, but because of his ability.
It is a big challenge to maintain confidence and motivate the team amid criticism. Players like Bavuma accepted this challenge and emerged victorious.
This statement of Bavuma sums up his struggle: “I am not here to fill a quota, I am here to lead. I know who I am.”
Impact of quota policy on performance
If the performance of the South African cricket team is seen in the context of before and after the implementation of the quota policy, an interesting pattern emerges.
Between 1992 and 2002, when the quota policy was not formally implemented, the team’s win percentage in Test matches was around 58% and in ODIs it was around 65%.
This performance was the best in the world after Australia. During the same period, South Africa proved its strength by winning the Champions Trophy in 1998.
After this, between 2003 and 2015, when the quota policy was partially implemented.
Quota Policy: Politics or Justice?
South Africa’s quota policy, called ‘Transformation Targets’, is a system of the country’s cricket board – Cricket South Africa – under which it is mandatory to include an average of six non-white players in the national team every year, at least two of whom should be of black African origin.
This policy was started with the aim of removing the injustice arising from historical apartheid.
However, the process of implementing it has been controversial many times.
Some former heads, coaches and players of Cricket South Africa have admitted that som etimes talented white players were left out of the team only to meet the quota target.
But it is also a fact that for decades in South Africa, black players were not given the opportunity to play even at the school level.
The impact of the quota system was not limited to the national team. There are now a growing number of black coaches, umpires and administrators active at school, club and township level. Cricket in South Africa is no longer just a ‘white man’s game’, but has become a sport representing the country’s entire population.
What do the statistics say?
In 2003, black players made up just 14% of the team. This figure rose to 47% in 2016, 61% in 2023 and 63% for the 2025 champion team.
The team’s performance rankings have also improved over the same period—sixth in the Test rankings in 2016, third in 2023 and now world champion status in 2025.
Did Rabada, Philander, Amla, Maharaj come from quota ?
Conclusion: Temporary policy, permanent change
Debate on the quota policy is inevitable. This policy is not a conspiracy to ‘bring the undeserving to the top’, but a process to give the right to play and be seen to the marginalised sections for decades.
Players like Bavuma, Rabada, Ngidi and Vernon have proved that when given a platform, colour is never a barrier to performance.
The essence of this debate is perhaps hidden in this statement of former Cricket South Africa chief Haroon Lorgat:
“Cricket is not just a game of breaking boundaries on the field, it also brings about change off it.”
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