PAARL: South Africa suffered a potential setback ahead of their two-match Test series against Pakistan when left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj suffered a groin strain, international media reported on Tuesday.
According to a report, Maharaj suffered the potential injury during the home team’s warm-up for the opening ODI series against Pakistan.
The report further suggested that the left-arm spinner was part of South Africa’s playing XI for the ongoing game, but his timely injury forced the hosts to replace him with Andile Phehlukwayo.
Maharaj is a key part of the South Africa Test squad as he often acts as the only specialist spinner in the XI, with Aiden Markram playing a supporting role in his part-time off-spin.
While the severity of Maharaj’s injury has yet to be assessed, it adds to the Proteas’ injury woes, who are missing several key players including Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee and Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger and Wiaan Mulder.
Notably, Dane Piedt and Senuran Muthusamy are the two spinners in contention for the Boxing Day Test if Keshav Maharaj does not recover before the Boxing Day Test.
Meanwhile, Mulder, who broke his finger during the recently concluded home series against Sri Lanka, is in the race to be fit for the Boxing Day Test against the Green Shirts.
For those unfamiliar, the upcoming series against Pakistan is crucial for South Africa as they need just one more win to secure their place in the World Test Championship (WTC) final.
