South Africa is going to start their Twenty20 campaign against Sri Lanka on Saturday and that too without T20 skipper Faf du Plessis and forefront pacer Dale Steyn most probably. Both of these Proteas veterans are suffering from cripple injuries. They have not played even the warm-up matches against Pakistan on Wednesday.
The players’ availability will be adjudicated on their board committee meeting on Saturday afternoon, before the match.
Steyn made his right cripple injury during the third Test against Australia and despite he has recreated the first practice match against the host Bangladesh. He could bowl for 2.2 overs and later that he was receiving treatment following a 10-days recovery time.
Though he met on the inaugural day of the Test, but he could bowl for 10.1 overs and after that could not go on the first innings. He came down to meet the second innings, but left it in the middle to continue his rehabilitation schedule.
Cricket South Africa has said in press-conference, “Steyn will continue to get treatment from the physiotherapist to make him the best opportunity of retrieval for the opening match.”
The team manager Mohammed Moosajee sounded auspicious about Steyn’s recovery before leaving for Bangladesh and he said that Steyn would play the first match surely.
On the other hand, they are not so sure about due Plessis’s presence in the inaugural game. He did not meet the first warm-up match and is uncertain to play the Sri Lanka match.
“The medical team is cautious about rushing him too soon because of the volatile nature of T20 cricket and the back-to-back schedule of fixtures. He will go on to receive extensive treatment and rehab to give him the best opportunity of regaining full fitness for the opening match.” CSA’s release stated.
AB de Villiers is going to captain the squad if du Plessis cannot play; he will fare down to bat at No.3.
De Villiers was named as the master of the Twenty20 squad from June 2011 to December 2012, but he surrendered his captaincy as he felt overworked by the responsibilities of captaincy. Wicket keeping and batting has always been his top priorities. Still, he continued his skipping in other formats.
Morne Morkel has got hurt his right shoulder during the Test against Aussies and that added him up in the queue of injured musicians. He seems fully fit at once. He bowled for the full overs against Bangladesh A and attended the warm-up match against Pakistan.
They are attempting to fill the absence of Steyn with the fit Morkel and four other summers, Lonwabo Tsotsobe, Wayne Parnell, Albie Morkel and Beuran Hendricks. They take in another consistent player Kyle Abbott in their hand. He was in the team for the T20s against Australia and was the second highest wicket-taker in the domestic 20-over competition with 16 scalps, behind Hendricks.
