South Africa are set to start their two-Test match series against Zimbabwe in the absence of their regular captain, Temba Bavuma, who has been sidelined due to a hamstring injury he picked up during the World Test Championship (WTC) final at Lord’s last week. Proteas’ spinner Keshav Maharaj will fill in for Bavuma as the captain for the short tour.
Bavuma’s injury, which he sustained while batting on the third day of the WTC final, has not healed in time for the series, which will not be a part of South Africa’s defence of the mace. The South African captain is understood to be scheduled for further scans to assess the extent of the damage.
Two months before the WTC final, Bavuma picked up a niggle in his left elbow, the same elbow where he has a history of injuries. This recent hamstring injury flared up early on during his stay at the crease, but he battled through it to anchor one end and take his side to a historic victory over Australia. He ended with 66 runs on the board, which doesn’t quite translate to the amount of grit that went into getting that number.
Besides his long-standing issues with his elbow, this was the third time his hamstring had strained. The first saw him out of the series against India at the start of the previous WTC cycle, while he weathered the second to feature in the semi-final of the 2023 World Cup in India. After the final, he revealed the management didn’t want him to continue, but his call was to keep fighting through the pain for glory.
“I didn’t want to think of another option. I didn’t want to consider myself not being there with Aiden (Markram). It was a key moment within the game,” Bavuma said. “I wasn’t at 100% fitness, but I felt that I was good enough to still do the job. It was a tough decision. I can’t not think of the 2023 World Cup, where it was a similar type of incident. But it was me backing my gut. I went against advice from management, and I was willing to take whatever comes with it. It was very much an instinctive call, very much an egotistical call, but I was happy to deal with whatever consequence that came with it.”
With Bavuma unavailable, other regulars, including Aiden Markram and Kagiso Rabada, rested, and Lungi Ngidi only available for the second Test, South Africa called up five uncapped players: Dewald Brevis, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Codi Yusuf, Lesego Senokwane, and Prenelan Subrayen.
South Africa’s calendar after the red-ball series against Zimbabwe includes one-day series against Australia and England, following which they will begin their next WTC campaign against Pakistan in October.
South Africa squad: 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.
Schedule:
First Test – June 28, Bulawayo
Second Test – 6th July, Bulawayo
