After recovering from a left hamstring injury, right-arm seamer Gerald Coetzee made a comeback to the national team as South Africa announced the squad for the ODI tri-series in Pakistan. Rob Walter, South Africa’s white-ball coach, named a 12-man squad for the first match of the series, including Coetzee, who has recovered from an injury setback. Coetzee played his last match for South Africa before the injury setback against Sri Lanka in the first match of a two-match Test series on November 27, 2024, as per the ICC.
For the opening match of the ODI tri-series, South Africa also have an array of new options to look at with six uncapped players also added in the Temba Bavuma-led side.
Meeka-eel Prince, Gideon Peters, Eathan Bosch, and Mihali Mpongwana are all uncapped at the international level so far, while Matthew Breetzke has already featured in Tests and T20Is, and Senuran Muthusamy has played four Tests for the Proteas.
The squad will be updated for the remainder of the series following the conclusion of the ongoing SA20 league in South Africa, with players like Keshav Maharaj and Heinrich Klaasen set to be available from the second game of the series.
The tri-series will kick off with New Zealand squaring off against Pakistan in the Gadaffi Stadium on February 8. The Kiwis will then face South Africa on February 10 in a day match.
After the conclusion of the first two games, the ODI action will move from Rawalpindi to Karachi, with the Men in Green taking on the Proteas on February 12 in a day/night match. The final of the tri-series will be held on February 14 at the same venue, five days before the tournament opener
The tri-series in Pakistan comes as a precursor to the ICC Champions Trophy which begins February 19.
South Africa squad (For the first ODI): Temba Bavuma (capt), Eathan Bosch, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Junior Dala, Wiaan Mulder, Mihlali Mpongwana, Senuran Muthusamy, Gideon Peters, Meeka-eel Prince, Jason Smith, Kyle Verreynne.
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