Russell Domingo’s concerns about the workloads of certain members of the South African cricket side seem justified following the withdrawal of the Proteas skipper AB de Villiers from squad for the two Tests against New Zealand.
South Africa will be without De Villiers, who was only appointed as Test captain in February, for the Tests against the Kiwis later this month owing to an elbow injury he picked up playing for the Barbados Tridents in the Caribbean Premier League last month.
Faf du Plessis will captain the side.
“AB complained of pain in his left elbow while he was participating in the CPL and subsequent MRI scans revealed an impingement of the joint capsule,” said the South African team’s manager, Mohammed Moosajee. “He has since been released from the CPL and will need extensive rehab and treatment during a recovery period of between six and eight weeks.”
Following South Africa’s poor showing in the recent triangular One-Day series involving Australia and the West Indies, Domingo said the heavy workload carried by the likes of De Villiers, JP Duminy, Du Plessis, Morne Morkel and others who featured regularly in lucrative domestic T20 competitions would undermine their performances for the national team.
“It’s a big concern for me. It’s one of the points I need to highlight with my superiors when I get time to sit down and chat to them,” Domingo said when he returned following the triangular series.
“Think about our seriously long tour to India, long tour against England, then straight into the World T20. Then players stayed behind, played the IPL and flew straight to the Caribbean. Some players arrived two days before our first game in Guyana and now some are staying another four weeks in the Caribbean, some are playing county cricket, then home for two weeks, then a series against New Zealand, then go and play a mini IPL, then straight into a tour against Australia.”
Morkel will also miss the Tests against New Zealand because of a bulging disc in his back.
Squad: Faf du Plessis (capt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma, Stephen Cook, Quinton de Kock, JP Duminy, Dean Elgar,, Chris Morris, Wayne Parnell, Vernon Philander, Dane Piedt, Kagiso Rabada, Dale Steyn, Stiaan van Zyl - The Star