South Africa’s week just keeps getting worse and worse, After losing AB De Villiers and captain Faf Du Plessis, wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock has also been ruled out. The 25-year old as picked up a wrist injury on his left hand and will be forced out of the rest of the One-day International. He will also miss the three-match Twenty20 International series against India.
De Kock suffered the injury during the second ODI where the Proteas were thrashed by nine-wickets in a one-sided contest. A short delivery from Jasprit Bumrah struck De Kock on the hand in the early stages of the match. Cricket South Africa has said that he will be out of action for at least 2-4 weeks.
The team doctor, Mohammed Moosajee said, “Quinton suffered an extreme blow to the left wrist while batting in the second ODI on Sunday and felt severe pain and discomfort. Further investigation revealed severe bony bruising to the area, with associated swelling around the tendon in the wrist. This type of injury will require between 2-4 weeks to heal, which subsequently rules him out of the remainder of the ODI and T20 series against India. The CSA medical team will aim to have him ready for the Test series against Australia starting next month.”
Surprisingly, the selectors did not name a replacement for De Kock in the squad. The hosts are already 0-2 down in the six-match series and another absence will not do good for their morale. AB de Villiers had to skip the first three matches after picking up an injury in the Test series. Captain Faf du Plessis was also ruled out for entire duration of the limited-overs series after enduring a fractured finger.
With the injuries piling up for South Africa, one has to think that they are on the backfoot for the rest of the series, including the T20 series.