South Africa captain Temba Bavuma suffered an elbow injury and was ruled out of the domestic first-class final. The Lions expected the 34-year-old to join the camp on Tuesday, April 8 but he didn’t turn up for the practice. It wasn’t until Wednesday that the Lions were informed about his unavailability due to the injury. With little over two months remaining for the World Test Championship (WTC) final against Australia, Temba’s injury is currently being monitored but Cricket South Africa (CSA) is yet to update about the nature of his injury.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Temba injured his left elbow - the same one he has injured before. The Lions team management wasn’t updated about Temba’s injury either. On Wednesday morning, captain Dominic Hendricks told the media that he was eager to pair up with Temba in the final.
Notably, Bavuma injured his left elbow in 2022, which forced him out of the England series. He was ruled out for three months but then, he reinjured the same area when he fell while completing a run against Ireland in an ODI in Abu Dhabi last year. It ruled the cricketer out of the Test series against Bangladesh.
With the WTC final set to take place at Lord’s from June 11, Temba had the perfect opportunity to gear himself up. Last year, before the home Test series against Sri Lanka, the skipper shared that he had to fight mental demons to prepare himself as he had played no practice match. Nevertheless, the cricketer did well, smashing two centuries in four Tests and a run of four fifty-plus scores against Sri Lanka.
Since the Champions Trophy 2025, Temba has played no competitive cricket and with him now ruled out of the domestic final, he will arrive at the WTC final with no playing time, which is slightly concerning. Nevertheless, it depends on his recovery from the injury and his availability.