There comes a huge blow for Temba Bavuma as he will miss the team’s two World Cup Warmup Matches because he is traveling home for family reasons. South Africa is set to face Afghanistan & New Zealand in Warm-up fixtures on September 29 and October 2 in Thiruvananthapuram and will be led by Aiden Markram.
Bavuma is expected to rejoin the squad in time for South Africa’s opening match of the World Cup against Sri Lanka in Delhi on October 7. Proteas are already without the services of their fast bowlers Anrich Nortje & Sisanda Magaal who are ruled out of the tournament due to injuries. And now Bavuma’s absence will be a major blow for Proteas.
Nortje has a suspected stress fracture of the back, while Magala is suffering a left knee injury. Coming to Bavuma after his unbeaten 114 runs knock against Australia in the first ODI, Bavuma suffered a hamstring niggle. However, he was declared fit to play the next two games. He then suffered an inner thigh muscle strain & was rested from the fourth ODI as a precautionary muscle. Bavuma returned for the final game of the series & was dismissed for a two-ball duck.
Reeza Hendricks will open innings with De Kock in World Cup 2023
In Bavuma’s absence, Reeza Hendricks could open their innings with Quinton de Kock in the warm-up matches in Thiruvananthapuram. Bavuma is a key player & leader for South Africa in limited limited-overs format. However, the team will have to adapt quickly to his absence & make most of their warm-up fixtures to fine-tune their preparations for the World Cup.
South Africa will be aiming to make a strong impact in the World Cup 2023 & will look ahead to build on their recent performances in white ball cricket. The absence of their captain in the warm-up matches will be a major concern for the team, but he will be focused on delivering strong performances in the marquee event.
South Africa squad for World Cup 2023:
Temba Bavuma (c), Gerald Coetzee, Quinton de Kock, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, Rassie van der Dussen and Lizaad Williams
Also read, Labuschagne replaces Agar in Australia’s World Cup Squad
