Proteas star and IPL competitor suffers back injury
Proteas’ Lungi Ngidi has appealed against his disqualification from the 2023 Cricket World Cup in India.
In a week, the 10-week Indian Premier League championship will begin, with the final scheduled for 25-26 May. When the IPL reaches the playoffs, the Proteas T20 team will play a three-match series against the West Indies, which means that coach Rob Walter will likely be without his main players for these matches.
New players on the field
Lungi Ngidi is one of the players who may make an early appearance for the West Indies after being released by Delhi Capitals for IPL 2024 as he continues to recover from a lower back injury. The 27-year-old suffered the injury during the Betway SA20 play-offs last month. However, he is expected to return to action for the Titans in the second half of the ongoing CSA T20 Challenge in April.
This promises to have a direct impact on the team’s preparations for the main event of the year, as ideally, like any coach, Walter would like to see his players in camp closer to the World Cup.
However, these are not the cards that have been dealt to Walter, and he may have to adjust his plans and select new faces for the trip to the Caribbean, with most of these players unlikely to make the World Cup squad.
The tournament gives Walter more time to study the readiness of domestic players for a three-match series in the Caribbean. For some of the local players, such as Lions batsmen Ryan Rickelton and Russie van der Dusseyn, their form in the T20 Challenge could even see them named in the provisional World Cup squad.
Both players have had impressive SA20 campaigns, with Rickelton topping the scoring list with 530 runs at an average of 58.88, with five half-centuries and three scores in the 90s.
Van der Dussen took his SA20 form, where he was sixth on the list with 328 runs, including a hundred and fifty, to the Pakistan Super League, where he hit three half-centuries and a hundred in just seven innings.
Walter has hinted that he will favour current form when selecting his provisional squad for the World Cup, which works in favour of both Lions batsmen.
