Took my name out of SA20 draft so that I could play in New Zealand: David Bedingham

In what has become a rare instance in modern-day cricket, South Africa batter David Bedingham preferred to play Test cricket over T20s. Ahead of the second Test against India, the 29-year-old revealed that he had a word with the management and then decided to pull out of the SA20 draft so that he could feature in the upcoming two-match series against New Zealand, which is slated to begin on February 4.

The George-born cricketer added that head coach Shukri Conrad first informed him about a possible opening for the New Zealand series and he had “no second thoughts”. The middle-order batter added that Test cricket holds priority to him and he is delighted following the call-up.

“I took my name out of the draft so that I could play in New Zealand. Shuks (Conrad) called and said there’s a possibility. When I heard that no one from SA20 can play I thought my chances of playing are quite high. I didn’t have a second thought. I told him I would take my name out of the draft,” Bedingham was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz.

“If those T20 comps come up for me, perfect but the main aim is always Test cricket. Or first-class cricket. The biggest dream is to score a century at Newlands,” the cricketer added.

Bedingham named Gibbs and Kallis as his boyhood heroes

In his debut match in Test cricket, Bedingham made 56 runs against a quality pace unit of India, showing his temperament in the longest format. He is a veteran in red-ball cricket, having played 86 first-class matches before making his long-awaited debut. Meanwhile, ahead of the second match, the cricketer revealed Herchelle Gibbs and Jacques Kallis as his boyhood heroes, as he went to the same school as these legends.

“Definitely Herschelle Gibbs. Jacques Kallis was from my school (Wynberg Boys’ High) … or, I was from his school. So I tended to watch those two,” Bedingham said.