Kagiso Rabada, Chris Morris To Miss 3TC Exhibition Match In South Africa

South Africa stars Kagiso Rabada and Chris Morris are among the most prominent names set to miss the exhibition 3TC match in Centurion. According to a report in espncricinfo, Kagiso Rabada has pulled out of the 3TC match on July 18 due to the death of immediate family members.

In absence of Kagiso Rabada, Heinrich Klaasen, a part of the 24-member squad, will captain the Kingfishers’ team. AB de Villiers and Quinton de Kock will lead the other two sides in the exhibition contest played in South Africa to mark the return of cricket in country after the pandemic situation.

Thando Ntini, son of South Africa legend Makhaya Ntini, Bjorn Fortuin and Gerald Coetzee were named as the replacements for Morris and Rabada. The tournament was originally slated to get underway from June 27 but as the players return protocol was delayed, it had to be postponed.

CSA director of cricket Graeme Smith has said that the players would show their backing for anti-racism during the tournament. “CSA and its Affiliate Members affirm their commitment to a process of transformation based on the principle of broad-based empowerment and affirmative action that will continue to increase the number of people involved in the game; increase accessibility to all participants and participant groupings; and consistently improve performances,” read a CSA statement.

“CSA continues to focus on the transformation of the sport at every level, and invested nearly R385 million in cricket transformation and development in the 2019/2020 financial year, and met its transformation targets at the development level in the 2019/2020 season. CSA’s intention is to continue to invest resources in transformation as they did in the past and measure impact with incentives and consequences.”

Updated Squads:

Kites: Quinton De Kock (captain), Temba Bavuma, Jon-Jon Smuts, David Miller, Dwaine Pretorius, Lutho Sipamla, Beuran Hendricks, Anrich Nortje.

Kingfishers: Heinrich Klaasen (captain), Reeza Hendricks, Janneman Malan, Faf du Plessis, Thando Ntini, Gerald Coetzee, Glenton Stuurman, Tabraiz Shamsi.