India vs South Africa: Temba Bavuma ruled out of second Test, Dean Elgar to captain Proteas

Temba Bavuma has been forced out of the second Test between India and South Africa after suffering a hamstring strain at the SuperSport Park in Centurion. Bavuma had stayed out of most of the Boxing Day Test having picked up the niggle on the opening day.

Dean Elgar, who scored a match-winning 185 runs, will captain the team in what will be his final Test for South Africa. He had captained the team when Bavuma had walked off the ground with the injury. Subsequently, Zubayr Hamza has been added to the squad.

Bavuma hurt himself in the 20th over of the first Test when he chased a ball towards long-off and got to it just before it ran off to the boundary rope. He left the field immediately and was taken for scans, which revealed a strain, but not a tear, and Cricket South Africa said he would be monitored.

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He appeared briefly in the morning warm-ups, but not at all after that and there was no clarity on whether Bavuma would bat. As per rules, since it was an internal injury, he could bat only after he had served the time he was off for, or after the fall of the fifth wicket, whichever was earlier.

After South Africa’s win by an innings, coach Shukri Conrad confirmed Bavuma was “not in a great physical state”. Ultimately, he wasn’t risked because South Africa had taken a comfortable 163 run lead.

“Temba is not in a great physical state,” Conrad said. “He was ready to bat at every turn, and we kept monitoring it. When we reached where we reached, not because we felt that was enough, we felt that if we sent him out then there was a potential risk that he could aggravate the risk even further. We were constantly giving ourselves maximum time so we could give out the right information. If we lost wickets early, he would have walked on. With 150 runs ahead, I felt it wasn’t necessary to risk Temba.”

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Bavuma’s next assignment is South Africa’s T20 league, the SA20, which means he will skip the two-Test series against New Zealand. It was the South Africa skipper’s first match since the World Cup semi-final loss to Australia on 16 November where he was carrying a hamstring strain. He was rested from the three T20Is and three ODIs against India which started on 10 December. He also missed the practice match before the Test because of a family bereavement.

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