The pace bowling stocks of South Africa have suffered another injury setback as the young speedster Gerald Coetzee has picked up a hamstring issue, as the reports of ESPNcricinfo have addressed. He was expected to be named as the replacement for Anrich Nortje in the Champions Trophy 2025, but things have not been straightforward in that aspect.
The 24-year-old pacer of South Africa turned up for his first game of the SA20 in the 2025 season for the Johannesburg Super Kings against the Durban Super Giants at the Kingsmead but was left out for the next encounter against the Pretoria Capitals at the Wanderers. He is in doubt for the next few weeks while his fitness levels are being closely monitored.
There has been no official explanation of the exclusion, but the pacer had only returned from injury. On a ground that was suited to be pace-friendly, he was expected to be included in the eleven. The JSK captain of the league, Faf du Plessis, admitted the injuries that had been a story of the league in the first ten days.
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South Africa’s pacer played the last game against Durban Super Giants, which was his first competitive game since the Test against Sri Lanka at the same venue, where he injured his groin and was ruled out of the rest of the international summer after he had come back from a hip niggle and a 12-week conditioning block.
Gerald Coetzee’s injury puts pressure on South Africa’s light bench strength
Coetzee didn’t feature in any cricket except a game at the Major League Cricket (MLC) in July when he was part of only one affair in the competition and a domestic match for the Titans in October. He appeared faster and fitter than before, playing in all four of South Africa’s T20I fixtures at home against India, and ended up with 4/85 in the first game before getting ruled out.
The white-ball head coach of South Africa, Rob Walter, has confirmed that the pacer was in line for a Champions Trophy comeback but left out as they decided to favor the aggressive and quick bowler Anrich Nortje, who hasn’t featured for the national side since the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 against India at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados. With Nortje struggling with a back injury, it’s expected that Coetzee, if fit, would make the trip to Pakistan. In case of his unavailability, there will be a huge concern for the Proteas.
The depth of the reserves in the bowling department isn’t huge. Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, and Wiaan Mulder are already in the squad. It will be interesting to see if the 18-year-old tearaway left-arm pacer Kwena Maphaka gets into the ICC event. Corbin Bosch is another option for the pace department. The death-bowling specialist Ottniel Baartman is another option, with almost every other pace currently injured.
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Nandre Burger, another youngster for South Africa, will not return to action this summer after suffering a lower-back stress fracture, while Lizaad Williams is recovering from knee surgery. Darn Dupavillon, the Pretoria Capitals’ bowler, is out of the SA20 with a hamstring injury.
He is the eighth seamer of South Africa to be injured this summer. The others on the list are Ngidi (groin), Coetzee, Mulder (broken finger), Nortje (broken toe), Williams, Baartman, and Burger. The opening game for South Africa in the Champions Trophy 2025 will be against Afghanistan at the National Stadium in Karachi.