- By Himanshu Badola
- Sat, 11 Nov 2023 03:19 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
World Cup 2023: South Africa could suffer a major setback as their captain Temba Bavuma's participation in the semi-final of the ODI World Cup 2023 remains doubtful due to injury concerns.
South Africa will face the five-time champions Australia in their semi-final clash at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata but they could miss the service of Bavuma who picked up a hamstring issue during his side's last league match against Afghanistan on Friday.
While the Proteas prepare to be part of yet another World Cup semi-final, the seriousness of their skipper's injury still remains unclear.
Bavuma had his issues throughout the tournament, having missed out on the two matches earlier due to illness, and was seen limping on the field in the match against Afghanistan.
After his team was asked to bowl first, Bavuma went off the field earlier in the match before making a return four overs later. However, he was seen limping on the field.
South Africa picked up a five-wicket win in their last league match and Bavuma opened up on his inquiry, mentioning that he should be fine for the semifinals.
"Obviously, my leg is sore - don't know to what extent - but it's going to have to be fine (for the semi-final)," Bavuma said after the match.
The right-handed batter went on to say that he had the option to come out of the field but he wanted to stay with the team. "Obviously I had that option of coming off, but I think as much as it was our last group-stage game, probably it didn't have a big bearing in terms of the play-off.
"But I still wanted to be out there with the guys. It was an opportunity for me to get some time in the middle [batting], so I didn't want to let that go. But also to keep leading the guys, keep marshaling out in the field, [and] keep strengthening those relationships with the bowlers. It was a bit risky, staying on the field - but that's what I felt was right at that time," he added.
Talking about their campaign, South Africa have had a promising tournament so far as they successfully made it to the semi-final, locking their clash with Australia.
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They finished their league stage on a high as they stand second in the points table with seven wins and 14 points under their belt out of their nine matches.
Rassie van der Dussen played a key knock of unbeaten 76 runs to take his team closer to the target before Andile Phehlukwayo finished the match in style with multiple boundaries in 47.3 overs.