The substitute is Bjorn Fortuin, and Maharaj will be evaluated prior to the first Test, which begins on December 26.
Keshav Maharaj, the left-arm spinner for South Africa, will not play the rest of the current ODI series against Pakistan. A press release stated that Maharaj’s injury, which occurred during warm-ups prior to Tuesday’s first ODI, “scans revealed a left adductor strain.”
For the second and third ODIs against Pakistan, South Africa has selected Bjorn Fortuin as a like-for-like substitute for Maharaj.
At the last minute, pace-bowling all-rounder Andile Phehlukwayo replaced Maharaj in South Africa’s starting lineup when he hobbled off shortly before the first game’s toss. Maharaj will travel home to Durban “for rehabilitation and will be reassessed ahead of the first Test against Pakistan,” the announcement added.With Maharaj’s injury, South Africa’s list of injured bowlers grows even longer. Wiaan Mulder (broken finger), Gerald Coetzee (groin), Lungi Ngidi (hip), Nandre Burger (lower back), and Anrich Nortje (fractured toe) are already out for the hosts. Additionally, in the second Test in Gqeberha, Maharaj bowled South Africa to victory on the last day against Sri Lanka, causing a batting collapse with a 5 for 76 score.
Senuran Muthusamy and Dane Piedt are South Africa’s spin-bowling alternatives for the Test series against Pakistan in Maharaj’s absence.Legspinner Shaun von Berg, who also made his debut on the same tour, batting all-rounder Neil Brand, who bowls left-arm spin and had toured New Zealand earlier this year, and left-arm spinner Tabraiz Shamsi, who last played first-class cricket in 2021, are among those with a remote chance of making the squad.
December 26 marks the start of the first Test of the two-match series against Pakistan in Centurion. Right now, South Africa is ranked first in the points system and is just one victory away from reaching the World Test Championship final.
