South Africa’s WTC ultimate probabilities take large hit, Take a look at skipper Temba Bavuma suffers one other elbow damage

In a major blow to Team South Africa’s chances in the upcoming WTC final, their Test skipper Temba Bavuma has suffered an elbow injury again. Due to that, he will miss their domestic first-class final, which starts in Johannesburg on Thursday, as per ESPNCricinfo.

Lions, the team that Bavuma plays for, are left in a lurch now, who didn’t know about the incident, and only found out about the injury late on Wednesday. Earlier, in 2022, Bavuma had fractured his left elbow and was out of the England tour, and eventually was out of action for three months. Then, last year he injured that elbow again, during an ODI against Ireland in Abu Dhabi.

What followed was hamstring injuries, and that left Temba Bavuma with less red-ball match practice. In addition, even during the Champions Trophy, he batted with heavy strapping on both his elbows. And since then he has played no competitive cricket. That leaves South Africa in a tricky situation, with the WTC final scheduled to start on June 11.

Mid-May, the South African team had also planned for practice matches with the England side. The bigger issue will be, even if he gets fit in time, he will have no international exposure before the all-important match, as he is not even part of the ongoing IPL, or soon-to-start PSL.