• Home
  • Cricket News
  • Temba Bavuma Ruled Out Of Zimbabwe Series Due To Injury New Captain Named

Temba Bavuma Ruled Out Of Zimbabwe Series Due To Injury; New Captain Named

Aashay Chopade

Temba Bavuma in the WTC final (Source: AP Photos)Temba Bavuma in the WTC final (Source: AP Photos)

The World Test Champions South Africa would be without their charismatic skipper Temba Bavuma in the two-match Test series against Zimbabwe. 

The right-handed batter batted with injury in the WTC final, but it probably aggravated his injury, and now the official X handle of Cricket South Africa has revealed that their regular skipper will not play due to a left hamstring injury.  In his place, Keshav Maharaj will lead the side against Zimbabwe, and Bavuma is set to undergo further scans to assess the extent of the injury.

Proteas Set To Try Out Youngsters In The Zimbabwe Series

The Proteas are already without many of their established stars in the series. The two matches are not part of the World Test Championship cycle, and the series is a good opportunity for them to try out some new players. There are five uncapped players in the squad, which includes the likes of Dewald Brevis and Lhuan-dre Pretorius.

Thus, the series would help them add depth for the future as they aim to continue their good performance in the format after the historic WTC final win against Australia. The gap would also give players like Temba Bavuma, Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada a chance to re-energise after a busy schedule and prepare for the upcoming challenges.

Temba Bavuma will now be targeting comeback in the ODI series against Australia in August. He has suffered hamstring injuries in the past two and also has a history of elbow injuries. 

As far as Test cricket is concerned, Temba Bavuma's boys would start their next cycle against Pakistan in October, followed by a three-match series in India. It gives Temba Bavuma ample time to fully recover and prepare himself for another WTC cycle, where the Proteas would enter as the defending champions.

South Africa's Updated Test Squad For Zimbabwe Series

David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Keshav Maharaj (capt), Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi (second Test only), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Lesego Senokwane, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne, Codi Yusuf