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South Africa's ICC World Championship 2025 title-winning captain Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against Zimbabwe due to a left hamstring strain, according to the ICC website.
Proteas veteran spinner Keshav Maharaj will take over as the captain for the red-ball series starting from June 28. Bavuma sustained the injury during day three of the World Test Championship Final at Lord's while batting in the second innings. He continued to bat with pain and put on a fight with a well-made half century, stitching up a match-winning partnership with Aiden Markram. Bavuma is set to undergo further scans to assess the extent of the injury, while experienced Maharaj will lead the side, which consists of five uncapped players. This is the third hamstring injury Bavuma has suffered in less than two years. He was injured during the 2023 ODI World Cup and played the semi-final, and then again during the Boxing Day Test against India that year. He has also had a series of elbow injuries and plays with a heavily strapped left elbow. The Proteas had faced Zimbabwe in a warm-up fixture before taking on Australia for the Ultimate Test at the Home of Cricket, where they were crowned the Test champions. Proteas will take on Zimbabwe in the first Test on Saturday, 28 June, followed by the second Test from Sunday, 06 July, with both matches taking place at Queens Sports Club, Bulawayo. South Africa's next assignments after Zimbabwe, which Bavuma could be part of, are ODIs against Australia in August and England in September. South Africa Test Squad against Zimbabwe Keshav Maharaj (c), David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Dewald Brevis, Corbin Bosch, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Kwena Maphaka, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi*, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Lesego Senokwane, Prenelan Subrayen, Kyle Verreynne and Codi Yusuf. (ANI)
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