Published: Feb 24, 2018, 03:34 PM (IST)
Edited: Feb 24, 2018, 03:34 PM (IST)
Injured South Africa captain Faf du Plessis has recovered and is all set to join the team for the first two Tests of the upcoming series against Australia, Cricket South Africa revealed in a statement on Saturday. Du Plessis had sustained a broken finger during ODIs against India and was subsequently ruled out of the remainder of the series. Along with du Plessis, wicketkeeper-batsman Quinton de Kock also comes back to the squad. De Kock had suffered a wrist injury and was rested. Also, newbies Heinrich Klaasen and Wiaan Mulder have been included.
Reported Cricbuzz, Dale Steyn is yet to recover and will not be available for the first two Tests. Steyn had twisted his ankle and suffered a damaged tissue during the first Test against India. AB de Villiers, who had to sit out for some part of the India series due to multiple injuries, has also been added to the squad. Chris Morris and Andile Phehlukwayo, who featured in the India series, have been dropped.
“Klaasen has been tremendously impressive in the white-ball matches he has played for the Proteas and we firmly believe he can become just as good a player in the five-day format. He has averaged nearly 50 with the bat in Sunfoil four-day cricket this season and hit two centuries. We are also keen to have a back-up wicketkeeper to De Kock in the squad,” CSA National Selection Panel Convener Linda Zondi said of Klaasen’s inclusion.
“The selection of Mulder continues our strategy to expand our pool of all-rounders against top quality opposition. He is a batting all-rounder and his selection will depend on how we decide to balance our starting XI. He has been the top all-rounder in the Sunfoil Series with a batting average of 60 (one century) and 15 wickets at an average of 28. It has been very exciting this season to see the way young players have settled into the various Proteas squads and done well and this is a continuation of that policy,” Zondi added.
