|
South Africa have announced a 17-member squad for the second Test against Australia, scheduled to begin on Sunday, October 18, in Gqeberha, with Matthew Breetzke replacing Tristan Stubbs in the squad and Ryan Rickelton set to take over wicketkeeping duties.
The changes could open the door for South Africa to include an additional specialist batter as they look to strengthen their batting lineup following a disappointing performance in the series opener, as per the ICC website. Left-handed batter Tony de Zorzi, however, remains unavailable for selection as he continues his recovery from a left hamstring injury. Meanwhile, pace spearhead Kagiso Rabada could return to the playing XI for the second Test after missing the series opener. His potential comeback would provide a significant boost to the South African bowling attack as the hosts look to bounce back from their emphatic 214-run defeat to Australia in Durban and level the series in Gqeberha. Stubbs was the only player dropped from South Africas squad following their 214-run defeat to Australia in the opening Test in Durban. Stubbs managed scores of 32 and 1 in the match, despite having registered a promising 94 in his previous Test innings against India nearly 11 months ago. Breetzke has been named as his replacement for the second Test in Gqeberha. Breetzke has featured in two tests for South Africa, making his appearances against Bangladesh in October 2024 and Zimbabwe in July 2025. However, the batter has managed just 14 runs across those outings and will be looking to make the most of the opportunity, having maintained a first-class batting average of 37.03. Squad: Temba Bavuma (c), Marques Ackerman, David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Corbin Bosch, Gerald Coetzee, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Anrich Nortje, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, and Kyle Verreynne. (ANI)
|
