Groin Strain Rules de Kock Out of Pakistan T20Is

Quinton de Kock has been ruled out of the ongoing series against Pakistan due to a groin injury he sustained in the final One-Day International that the hosts won 3-2, Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on Friday (February 1).

South Africa have called up uncapped Cape Cobras batsman, Janneman Malan, to replace the wicket-keeper batsman in the squad for the three-match series. Gihahn Cloete will handle wicket-keeping duties for the series.

“Quinton sustained an injury to his left groin...we are hopeful he will be fit for selection for the Test series against Sri Lanka starting in Durban on Feb 13th," said CSA team manager Dr Mohammed Moosajee.

Malan is coming off a good season for the Cobras. He has an impressive first-class average of 54.50 while in T20s he has scored 741 runs in 24 outings striking at 127.97. He had a good Mzansi Super League as well where he slammed 305 runs in nine outings with a strike rate of 125.51 for Cape Town Blitz.

"Janneman was one of the standout players during the Mzansi Super League and has been putting in the runs consistently at franchise level. He is an exciting young prospect, this is a great opportunity for us to continue blooding players at international level," Selection Convener Linda Zondi said.

South Africa have already won the Test and ODI series and will be eyeing the T20I series too. They then face Sri Lanka for a full tour before heading for the World Cup in England & Wales.