A calf injury has sidelined South Africa’s Test captain, Temba Bavuma, from the World Champions’ first Test series of their title defense, a two-match rubber in a multi-format tour of Pakistan in October-November.
He picked up the strain on the recent white-ball tour in England and is undergoing rehab, which is expected to take six to eight weeks, and the Proteas expect him to be back for the tour of India in November.
The major core of the team that beat Australia at Lord’s remains the same, with new additions being Dewald Brevis, who impressed on debut against Zimbabwe, offspinner Simon Harmer, Prenelan Subrayen and Zubayr Hamza. Harmer hasn’t played a Test since March 2023, while Subrayen has only recently been cleared by the ICC for a suspect action.
They’ll make the spin group alongside the senior first-choice man Keshav Maharaj, who’ll be unavailable for selection for the first Test due to a groin issue.
“Temba’s calf strain will unfortunately keep him sidelined for six to eight weeks, but the focus is on giving him the best chance to be fully ready for the India tour in November,” head coach Shukri Conrad said, as quoted by media in South Africa. “Naturally, we are disappointed not to have Temba available. He has been such an important leader and batter for us in the Test side, and his presence on and off the field will be missed.
“At the same time, the majority of the Test squad have experience of playing in the subcontinent and understand the demands that come with it, so I’m confident they will embrace the challenge. Pakistan is one of the tougher places to tour, and with spin-friendly conditions expected and Keshav only available from the second game, it was important to have an experienced campaigner like Simon in the squad to provide extra depth in the spin department.”
South Africa squad for Pakistan Tests: Aiden Markram (captain), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj (second Test only), Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen, and Kyle Verreynne
