South Africa’s limited-overs woes continue to grow with stalwart AB de Villiers being ruled out of the rest of the T20I series against India due to a knee injury.
The 34-year-old played no part in the opening Twenty20 clash on Sunday and broke down with what he described as a sore left knee before a ball had even been bowled.
The swashbuckling batsman had suffered the injury after the fifth ODI itself but decided to soldier on in the last two matches. He had missed the first three ODIs due to an injury in his index finger which he had suffered during the Test series which South Africa won 2-1.
Following the latest setback, the South Africa selectors have decided to rest the star in a bid to help him regain full fitness ahead of the upcoming Test series against Australia which gets underway next month.
Injury-prone: The legendary batsman has spent more time on the treatment table of late.
“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,” South Africa’s team manager Mohammed Moosajee stated.
The fresh setback will be a big blow to South Africa’s hopes in the T20I series after already having been on the receiving end of a 5-1 thrashing in the ODIs. India were on top once again on Sunday as they garnered a 28-run win to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.
