In the upcoming South Africa tour of India, JJ Smuts has been withdrawn from the T20I team as the player didn’t pass the fitness standards. The decision was announced by Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Thursday (5th September) to replace him with George Linde.
George Linde is currently playing for South Africa A. He scored 52 not out in just 25 balls in the second One day match against India A. The allrounder not only possesses batting skills but also know bowling techniques. He has taken three wickets with his left-arm spin against India A. Linde has played 54 List A, 44 first-class and 75 T20s. He has made 611 runs in T20s and the highest score is 52 not out with a strike rate of 139.81.
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JJ Smuts has not played since last year
The allrounder JJ Smuts has played eight T20Is for South Africa and his highest score is 45 runs. He has played two T20I matches against India in the home ground and scored 16 runs in total. In his T20I debut against Sri Lanka, he played as an opener and was out after scoring 13 runs.
It will be a great chance for Linde to play with the senior team against India. But it is a great loss for Smuts as he hasn’t played an international game since February 2018. He has played well in domestic cricket but his performances in international cricket were not impressive yet.
South Africa will leave for India on Friday (6th September). The three-match T20I series will start on 15 September and three-match Test series will start from 2nd October.
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South Africa T20 squad (updated): Quinton de Kock (capt), Rassie van der Dussen (vice-capt), Temba Bavuma, Junior Dala, Bjorn Fortuin, Beuran Hendricks, Reeza Hendricks, David Miller, Anrich Nortje, Andile Phehlukwayo, Dwaine Pretorius, Kagiso Rabada, Tabraiz Shamsi, George Linde.