South Africa’s Dale Steyn been ruled out of the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup after failing to recover from a shoulder injury.
The legendary pacer withdrew from the Indian Premier League in April with the same issue and has already missed the first two games of his team’s campaign at the World Cup.
He was, however, expected to be fit for the India match in Southampton. He was seen practising at full tilt after the team’s shock defeat against Bangladesh and captain Faf du Plessis had expressed confidence in his lead pacer’s return.
Steyn, who is South Africa’s fifth highest One-Day International wicket-taker of all time, will be replaced in the South African squad by left arm quick Beuran Hendricks, according to the International Cricket Council. Hendricks made his ODI debut in January this year.
Steyn had a surgery in 2016 and has been plagued with issues with his shoulder before and since that procedure. The 35-year-old has had a recurrence of the problem and will be unavailable for the foreseeable future, added the report by the governing body.
South Africa were in desperate need of a boost after having started this tournament with two losses. Defeats to England and Bangladesh in their opening fixtures have put their tournament in a delicate position. They are due to take on India on Wednesday, June 5, at the Hampshire Bowl in Southampton.
Meanwhile, in some positive news, Hashim Amla was seen practising at the nets after missing out the second match due to after-effects of getting hit on the helmet by Jofra Archer in the opener.