The Proteas have rushed Western Province and MI Cape Town allrounder George Linde to Pakistan as cover for the injured Aiden Markram ahead of the crunch ICC Champions Trophy semifinal against New Zealand in Lahore on Wednesday.
Linde was not at Province training on Monday and instead enroute to the Champions Trophy.
The need has arisen after the stand-in skipper Markram, while deputising for the ill captain Temba Bavuma against England on Saturday, experienced discomfort in his hamstring and walked off the field.
Markram initially played down the severity of the injury after the England game.
“I think it's all right, it was mostly precautionary over anything else,” he said.
“It feels okay. Hopefully over the next few days, I can get some good rest and then sort it out and be good to go from there.”
The Proteas travelled to Dubai after the England match and then back to Pakistan 18 hours later after their semifinal was confirmed against the Black Caps.
Upon arrival in Pakistan, the Proteas confirmed that Markram would undergo a fitness test at training in Lahore on Tuesday to determine whether the vice-captain would be able to take his place in the semifinal.
However, it may now seem that Markram’s injury could be worse than initially feared with Linde being flown to Pakistan.
Linde, 33, last played an ODI for the Proteas in Colombo back in September 2021 but has been in excellent form throughout the season across formats. He made a stunning comeback to the Proteas T20I side last year at Kingsmead after a spell in the international wilderness and was instrumental in helping MI Cape Town win a first-ever Betway SA20 championship last season.
In fact, the left-arm spinning allrounder was desperately unlucky to have missed out on initial selection for the Champions Trophy squad.
Losing Markram would however be a massive blow to the Proteas’ chances in the semifinal. The 30-year-old has only batted once at the tournament thus far but was in sublime form when he struck a blitzkrieg 52 not out off just 36 balls against Afghanistan in the tournament opener.
The Proteas are also still waiting on the availability of Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi, who both missed the England match through illness. The duo are in their final recovery phase and will attend training on Tuesday to determine their match fitness.
Under tournament rules, any replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the player can be officially added to the squad.
The Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 consists of Wasim Khan (ICC General Manager – Cricket), Sarah Edgar (ICC Senior Manager – Events), Usman Wahla (PCB Director – International Cricket Operations) and Shaun Pollock (Independent Representative).