South African player Dean Elgar has replaced injured batsman Hashim Amla in the national ODI squad for their upcoming three-match series against Zimbabwe.
Amla had sustained a finger injury while fielding during the recently-concluded Caribbean Premier League.
Shedding more light on the injury, South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee said that it would need up to three weeks for the injury to heal.
“Hashim sustained a tear to the tendon in his left fifth digit while fielding during the recently concluded Caribbean Premier League,” Sport24 quoted Moosajee, as saying.
“The injury will need up to three weeks to heal making him unavailable for the series against Zimbabwe,” he added.
Reflecting on Elgar’s form ahead of the Zimbabwe series, Cricket South Africa (CSA) national selector Linda Zondi said that he has performed well in the past and his consistent performance along with experience would prove to be an added advantage for the team.
“We have said that the Zimbabwe series is an opportunity to further explore our ODI options and the unfortunate injury to Hashim gives us an opportunity to see what Dean is capable of in the limited-overs format. He has always been on our radar having put in consistent performances both in South Africa and the UK, and brings a wealth of valuable experience to the batting group in Hashim and Faf’s absence,” Zondi said.
South Africa are slated to play three-match ODI series against Zimbabwe from September 30 to October 6.
[source_without_link]ANI[/source_without_link]