Former Test batsman Herschelle Gibbs has supported the Proteas’ decision to drop the out-of-form Temba Bavuma.

Bavuma was sidelined from last week’s first Test against England at SuperSport Park in Centurion due to a hip injury. He later returned to fitness, but was not selected for the ongoing second Test at Newlands in Cape Town.

The right-handed Bavuma has scored just one Test century since his 2014 debut. His last dozen Test innings have not yielded one half-ton.

‘This has nothing to do with form. You score one 100 in five years, you question technique and temperament. Some batsmen just can’t cut it at the top level. Just another case of it,’ Gibbs wrote on Twitter.

‘I got rightly dropped after three years without scoring a 100, also not batting in my preferred opening spot. What’s the difference?’

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Bavuma, meanwhile, has been released from the Test squad to play for the Lions in the 4-Day Domestic Series next week.

‘If you’re not finding yourself starting now, it’s about weight of runs,’ Proteas captain Faf du Plessis added earlier.

‘Temba will be the first to say that his performance over the last while wasn’t where it needed to be. Weight of runs would be the way back into the team, like it would for anyone.’

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