South Africa captain Temba Bavuma will have a headache ahead of the three-Test series at home against Australia. The reigning World Test Championship (WTC) champions are likely to miss the services of Kagiso Rabada against the Pat Cummins-led side. The Proteas pace-bowling spearhead had sustained a right hamstring injury while training earlier this month.
As per a report by Rapport, Rabada will not be available for the entire Test series. Former South Africa pacer and current Lions fast bowling coach Allan Donald revealed that the 31-year-old is likely to be "on the sidelines for nine or ten weeks because of a grade-three tear to his right hamstring."
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Cricket South Africa (CSA) is yet to make an official comment on the matter. The pacer won't be playing Lions' first game of the season which begins on September 10. The domestic team has been informed of his unavailability. CSA is likely to make an announcement after detailed medical assessment.
Who will replace Rabada?
South Africa don't have a dearth of fast bowlers. If Rabada misses out, Lungi Ngidi will lead the attack alongside Marco Jansen and pace-bowling all-rounder Corbin Bosch. Dane Paterson, all-rounder Wiaan Mulder and Kwena Maphaka are other pace-bowling options. In addition, if Anrich Nortje is fit, he can make a comeback as well. Nortje recently returned to action in the ongoing European T20 Premier League (ETPL) 2026. He hasn't played a Test since 2023.
Rabada’s WTC record, statistics vs Australia
The Test series will begin on October 9 in Durban. Rabada is South Africa's leading wicket-taker in WTC history. He has 164 wickets from 36 Tests, averaging 22.31, including seven fifers. He has an exemplary record against Australia, taking 58 wickets from 11 Tests at an average of 21.39, featuring four fifers. For South Africa, only Hugh Tayfield (64 wickets), Dale Steyn (70 wickets) have more wickets against the Aussies then.
Where are South Africa in WTC standings?
South Africa are placed second in WTC standings with three wins from four games. They drew the Test series in Pakistan 1-1 and then registered a historic series win over India.
Meanwhile, Australia were able to recover from the hiccup in Darwin against Bangladesh. They are placed at the top with eight wins from 10 Tests.