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South African Test captain Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the series against Zimbabwe due to a hamstring injury. The Championship-winning captain suffered a left hamstring strain and will be out of both the Tests against Zimbabwe. Spinner Keshav Maharaj will lead the Proteas side in Bavuma’s absence.
Bavuma sustained the injury during the World Test Championship final against Australia on day three. However, the Proteas skipper didn’t back down from the challenge and formed a match-winning partnership with Aiden Markram, eventually scoring a half-century that brought South Africa their first ICC title in 27 years.
This is not the first time Bavuma has suffered a hamstring injury as he sustained a similar injury during the 2023 ODI World Cup but still played the semi-final. In the boxing day test against India in the same year, Bavuma was again struck with a similar injury and was sidelined.
Bavuma will have to wait for further scans and evaluation of the injury to know about his comeback into the side. In his absence, experienced Maharaj will take the reins of captaincy of the Test squad, which includes five uncapped players.
This is the second time in a month that South Africa will face Zimbabwe in the longest format, as they played a warm-up match just before the start of the WTC final at Lord’s. The first Test between South Africa and Zimbabwe will start on Saturday, 28 June, while the second Test will start from Sunday, 6 July. Both the Test matches will be played at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo.
South Africa Test Squad against ZimbabweKeshav Maharaj (c), David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi*, Lhuan-dré Pretorius, Lesego Senokwane, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne, and Codi Yusuf.
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Cowboys make questionable move amid Micah Parsons stalemate
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All signs point to Yankees moving on from Anthony Volpe
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Mets Could Steal Massive Star From Their Biggest Rival
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