Internet Desk: Proteas batsman AB de Villiers, has been ruled out of the KFC T20 International (T20I) series against India due to a left knee injury. De Villiers suffered a blow to the knee the day before the fifth One-Day International (ODI) at SuperSport Park last Friday, and has not recovered sufficiently to take part in the current three-match T20I series.
Proteas team manager, Dr Mohammed Moosajee explained: “AB de Villiers will not be able to take part in the T20 International series against India due to a left knee injury. He suffered a blow to the knee while batting ahead of the fifth ODI, and although he passed a fitness test on Friday, the injury worsened significantly throughout the match. The Cricket South Africa medical team has advised he is given a period of rest and rehabilitation to make a full recovery ahead of the four-match series against Australia starting next month.”
The selectors has not yet named a replacement for the injured de Villiers. On the other hand South Africa have won the toss in the first of three match T20I series and choose to bowl first.
SA(Playing XI): JJ Smuts, R Hendricks, JP Duminy, D Miller, H Klaasen, F Behardien, C Morris, A Phehlukwayo, D Paterson, J Dala, T Shamsi.
IND(Playing XI): Rohit Sharma, Shikhar Dhawan, Virat Kohli(c), Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Hardik Pandya, MS Dhoni(w), Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Jaydev Unadkat, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah.