South Africa all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has been ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup 2022 in Australia, starting on October 16. Incidentally, he suffered a left-thumb fracture in the Third T20 match against India and will now be out of action for a couple of months.
This is a big blow for the South African team, as he is one of their most important all-rounders. In the last T20I against India on Tuesday, October 4, he proved his worth, returning with figures of 3/26 in 3.3 overs, which helped South Africa win the fixture comfortably by 49 runs.Â
With Dwaine Pretorius now ruled out, one between Marco Jansen and Andile Phehlukwayo is likely to replace him in the squad. Both have been named in the reserve list and the Cricket South Africa (CSA) is yet to take a final call.
“The nature of the injury requires surgical intervention, and Dwaine will consult the Cricket South Africa designated hand surgeon on arrival in South Africa,” CSA chief medical officer Dr. Shuaib Manjra said.
“Normal rehabilitation procedures will follow to ensure he speedily returns to playing cricket,” he added.
#PROTEAS SQUAD UPDATE 🚨
All-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against India and the proceeding ICC Men’s T20 World Cup due to a fracture of his left thumb.#BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/SZqvx0x5Ro
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 6, 2022
This is the second blow for South Africa after Rassie van der Dussen, who was ruled out with a broken finger. The Proteas will have their job cut out without the likes of Dussen and Dwaine Pretorius.
The Proteas will begin their World Cup campaign against a Qualifier in Hobart on Monday, October 24.
South Africa T20 World Cup squad
South Africa will be led by batter Temba Bavuma. He has been struggling for runs in recent times and will hope to get into rhythm ahead of the T20 World Cup.
Squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), Quinton de Kock, Heinrich Klaasen, Reeza Hendricks, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Anrich Nortje, Wayne Parnell, Kagiso Rabada, Rillee Rossouw, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs, Dwaine Pretorius (ruled out, replacement yet to be named)
Reserves: Bjorn Fortuin, Marco Jansen and Andile Phehlukwayo
Written by Gulshan Kumar
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