![South Africa have been in red hot form in ICC events lately. [Source: @ProteasMenCSA/X]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1739363269159_South_Africa_ODI_Concerns.jpg?type=tq)
South Africa have been in red hot form in ICC events lately. [Source: @ProteasMenCSA/X]
Irrespective of the gender or format, South Africa have successfully made it to the knockout rounds of recent ICC tournaments. While they're yet to lift the silverware, one feels it's only a matter of time before that happens now.
Before the Proteas play their next knockout match of an ICC multi-team tournament, they are scheduled to play a whole tournament in an entirely different format, namely ICC Champions Trophy 2025. As much as the South African fans would want to take confidence from the teams' latest performances in showpiece events, the below-mentioned concerns will keep them on their toes:
1. Injuries To Key Players
"Currently there's about nine South African fast bowlers injured across all the teams, so it is a worrying thing", former South Africa all-rounder and current Joburg Super Kings assistant coach Albie Morkel had told the reporters after the completion of their SA20 2025 match against MI Cape Town last month.
With each one of the six SA20 franchises getting affected due to injuries in the recently concluded season, the coincidence of so many players getting injured at the same time has raised alarms within CSA (Cricket South Africa).
South Africa, who have no option than to start their campaign without the likes of Anrich Nortje (back injury), Gerald Coetzee (groin), Nandre Burger (lower back) and Lizaad Williams (knee), would be hoping for replacement players to make the most of opportunities in a global event.
2. Over-reliance On Heinrich Klaasen
In spite of Aiden Markram and David Miller's presence in the middle-order, South Africa inadvertently tend to rely on wicket-keeper batter Heinrich Klaasen. If truth be told, one can't blame a team for pinning its faith on a top performer such as Klaasen.
Highest ODI run-scorer for the Proteas in the last three years, the 33-year-old player is the only middle-order batter to average more than 50 and strike in excess of 125 in the format in this period. Below is a table of highest run-scorers among players part of South Africa's Champions Trophy squad in this period:
Highest run-scorer among players part of Champions Trophy squad
| Player | Innings | Runs | Average | Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Heinrich Klaasen | 31 | 1,461 | 52.17 | 131.38 |
| Aiden Markram | 37 | 1,389 | 44.80 | 103.96 |
| Rassie van der Dussen | 36 | 1,197 | 35.20 | 83.18 |
| David Miller | 31 | 1,082 | 45.08 | 110.29 |
| Temba Bavuma | 30 | 1,081 | 40.03 | 90.15 |
| Tony de Zorzi | 13 | 471 | 39.25 | 95.73 |
| Marco Jansen | 22 | 461 | 27.11 | 107.71 |
Having scored a stroke-filled ODI half-century against Pakistan at the time of writing this piece, the right-hander, however, didn't have the best of SA20 seasons. Klaasen, who scored over 350 runs in the first two seasons, couldn't even cross the 200-run mark this year. Had it not been for him scoring two half-centuries in the last three innings, Klaasen might have ended the season with less than 100 runs to his name.
3. Lack Of Batting Depth
In the last three years, the South African tail hasn't wagged at all. As much as all-rounder Marco Jansen is an exciting prospect at No. 7, the lack of batting depth after him should concern the team management.
In this period, a total of 20 South African tail-enders have averaged a collective of 10.74. Among Full Members, only Zimbabwe (10.60) and Afghanistan (9.46) have a lower average than South Africa. Speaking particularly of the batting strike rate, South African bowlers striking at 62.99 is the lowest among the 22 teams that have played ODI cricket in the last three years.
 "Bhargav Dixit")
