Published: May 15, 2019, 11:28 AM (IST)
Edited: May 15, 2019, 11:28 AM (IST)
The pace bowling pair of Dale Steyn and Kagiso Rabada are on track to be fit for the start of South Africa‘s ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 campaign, insists the team’s coach Ottis Gibson.
South African pace spearhead Rabada returned home early from IPL 2019 with a stiff back, as Cricket South Africa (CSA) took a precautionary measure ahead of the World Cup. Before him, Steyn was sent home after his shoulder flared up.
South Africa have other pace-related issues, with Lungi Ngidi recently returning from injury and Anrich Nortje ruled out after having been picked for the World Cup.
Speaking to reporters after South Africa’s two-day team building camp in Cape Town after the IPL, Gibson sought to dispel doubts that Steyn and Rabada will not be fit for South Africa’s World Cup opener against hosts England on May 30 at The Oval.
(READ: South Africa not favourite but anything can happen: Rassie van der Dussen)
“There was an issue with KG (Rabada) and there was an issue with Dale, but we feel that those guys are on track,” Gibson said. “There is nothing that people should be alarmed about. We feel that they’re going to make full recoveries and be able to take their place at the World Cup.”
Faf du Plessis’ team are bidding once again to win the elusive World Cup trophy. South Africa have reached the semi-finals on four of seven times, and each time have been eliminated.
(READ: Top five run-getters in World Cup history)
Gibson, who in January revealed that he was hired by CSA to help win the World Cup, was confident that the past would not hang over the current team.
“What’s gone on in the past is gone. We’re not taking any of it into the World Cup with us,” he said. “We’re going in with it being a new adventure for us. We’ve got a lot of guys who are playing their first World Cup and we want to make it special for them. We don’t want to put too much pressure on the fact that it’s a World Cup.
“At the end of the day, we’re playing the same cricket that we did against Sri Lanka a couple of months ago and Pakistan before that. We’re not building it up to be anything other than what it is … it’s still cricket. It’s a fresh start for us. We’re going to the World Cup together and it’s my first time with the team.”
South Africa World Cup squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Quinton de Kock (wk), David Miller, JP Duminy, Hashim Amla, Aiden Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Dwaine Pretorius, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Lungi Ngidi, Imran Tahir, Tabraiz Shamsi, Chris Morris
South Africa’s World Cup fixtures:
May 24: (warm-up) South Africa vs Sri Lanka, Cardiff
May 26: (warm-up) South Africa vs West Indies, Bristol
May 30: South Africa vs England, The Oval
June 5: South Africa vs India, Southampton
June 10: South Africa vs West Indies, Southampton
June 15: South Africa vs Afghanistan, Cardiff
June 19: South Africa vs New Zealand, Birmingham
June 23: South Africa vs Pakistan, Lord’s
June 28: South Africa vs Sri Lanka, Durham
July 6: South Africa vs Australia, Manchester
For a full list of all World Cup fixtures, click HERE.
