Keshav Maharaj ruled out of 2nd Test vs Zimbabwe, SRH star named new South Africa captain

The South Africa National Cricket Team have suffered a massive blow as the star left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj has been ruled out of the second and last Test match of the series against the Zimbabwe National Cricket Team.

In his absence, Team South Africa will need a new captain for the second Test match against Zimbabwe, which will start on Sunday, July 6, and the selectors have locked in on a Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) star.

Keshav Maharaj suffers left groin strain

Recently, Temba Bavuma guided South Africa to the ICC World Test Championship triumph at Lord's, but he had sustained a hamstring strain during the match, which ruled him out of the subsequent Test matches against Zimbabwe.

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As he was ruled out of the series, Keshav Maharaj was asked to take over as the captain for a couple of matches. Under Keshav Maharaj's leadership, South Africa did a good job in the first match and registered a dominant 328-run win over the Chevrons.

Maharaj picked up a total of four wickets in the first Test match and registered 21 and 51 runs with the bat at the Queens Sports Club in Bulawayo.

However, now Keshav Maharaj has also been ruled out due to a left groin strain, which he picked up while batting on Day 3 of the Test series opener.

"Proteas left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj has been ruled out of the second Test against Zimbabwe due to a left groin strain," Cricket South Africa stated.

"The captain for the series sustained the injury while batting on day three of the first Test on Monday. He will return home for further assessment to determine the extent of the injury," CSA added.

Wiaan Mulder replaces Keshav Maharaj as captain

Keshav Maharaj has been replaced as the skipper for the second match by Wiaan Mulder, who joined Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2025 as a replacement player.

Also, Senuran Muthusamy has replaced Maharaj in the squad as a player. Meanwhile, CSA has decided to release Lungi Ngidi, who was set to join the squad on Wednesday, to give new pacers another chance.

"Senuran Muthusamy has been named as his replacement, while all-rounder Wiaan Mulder will lead the side in the second Test, which begins on Saturday, 06 July.

"Fast bowler Lungi Ngidi, who was set to join the squad on Wednesday, has been released to give the seamers who impressed in the first Test another opportunity to build on their performances," CSA further stated.

Proteas left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj has been ruled out of the second Test against Zimbabwe due to a left groin strain.

The captain for the series sustained the injury while batting on day three of the first Test on Monday. He will
return home for further assessment to… pic.twitter.com/Kn51qpgErH

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) July 2, 2025

He is obviously on top of his game at the minute - Shukri Conrad

South Africa all-format head coach Shukri Conrad, while talking about giving Wiaan Mulder the captaincy for the second Test match, said that the all-rounder has some leadership experience in his bag, having led South Africa in his youth days. He elaborated:

"He is obviously on top of his game at the minute. He's captained in his youth days, SA U19s. He shows some really good leadership qualities. This is part of his journey where he is starting to take more responsibility in the side. We have seen him do a lot of that in this short series thus far and I think it will be a great opportunity for Wiaan to grow into becoming a leader in this group.

"He's got all the attributes and I think the more responsibilitirs I give him, the better Wiaan reacts. I think we'll see improved performances. I think he thrives on that responsibility"

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