Breetzke added to SA Test sqaud vs Sri Lanka as Mulder ruled out with injury

Durban, Nov 29 (IANS) All-rounder Wiaan Mulder has been ruled out of the rest of South Africa’s Test series against Sri Lanka series due to a fractured right middle finger suffered in the ongoing first Test at Kingsmead.

Matthew Breetzke has been added to the squad as a replacement. Mulder, 26, sustained the injury after being struck on the lower hand while batting against Lahiru Kumara on the first ball of the 27th over during South Africa’s first innings on day two of the ongoing Test.

He received treatment on-field, and faced two more balls before retiring hurt due to the injury, following which he was taken to the hospital during lunch for further examination. Subsequent x-rays revealed the extent of the injury, which means South Africa won’t have his services for the ongoing game.

In his absence, Ryan Rickelton has been the substitute fielder for South Africa. Mulder's unavailability means South Africa have lost one of their four-man pace attack. They will now have to rely on Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee for seam-bowling quota. The workload will also increase on left-arm spinner Keshav Maharaj, as well as on opener Aiden Markram, who also delivers off-spin bowling if needed by South Africa.

Meanwhile, Breetzke is now available for selection for the second Test starting at St George’s Park in Gqeberha from December 5-9. Breetzke, the top-order batter who’s played eight T20Is for South Africa, made his Test debut against Bangladesh in Mirpur last month, and was bowled for a duck.

South Africa Test squad: Temba Bavuma (captain), David Bedingham, Matthew Breetzke, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, Senuran Muthusamy, Dane Paterson, Kagiso Rabada, Tristan Stubbs, Ryan Rickelton and Kyle Verreynne.

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