Injury Sidelines South Africa's Temba Bavuma Ahead of Domestic Final

South Africa Test captain Temba Bavuma is sidelined with an elbow injury, preventing his participation in the domestic first-class final in Johannesburg. His absence occurs two months before the World Test Championship final against Australia. The injury's details remain unclear, disrupting preparation for the critical match.

South Africa's Test cricket captain, Temba Bavuma, has been sidelined due to an elbow injury, keeping him out of the domestic first-class final set to commence in Johannesburg this Thursday. ESPN Cricinfo reported that Bavuma was expected to join the Lions from Cape Town on Tuesday but failed to reach Johannesburg. Lions team members learned late on Wednesday that Bavuma would not participate in the upcoming match due to the injury.

Significantly, Bavuma's latest setback comes just two months before the World Test Championship final against Australia, the reigning champions, scheduled for June. The Lions have not disclosed the specifics or severity of his injury. On Wednesday morning, Lions captain Dominic Hendricks expressed enthusiasm about playing with Bavuma in this notable game. This is not the first time Bavuma has faced an elbow injury; in 2022, a similar injury sidelined him during South Africa's tour of England. He also sustained an injury to the same elbow during an ODI against Ireland in Abu Dhabi, which caused him to miss two Tests against Bangladesh.

Despite previous setbacks, Bavuma made a remarkable return to form, scoring two centuries in four Tests and achieving four fifty-plus scores against Sri Lanka. Recently, he led South Africa in the Champions Trophy semi-final, albeit with significant elbow strapping. Since then, he has been absent from competitive plays. Bavuma was with the Lions for their last first-class match in Bloemfontein, which was, however, entirely rained out. The South African team has just eight weeks to prepare before facing Australia at Lord's in the World Test Championship final, starting June 11.

(With inputs from agencies.)