Injured Bavuma doubtful starter for South Africa's Tests against Bangladesh

Temba Bavuma is in doubt for South Africa's Test series against Bangladesh, which starts on October 21, after being ruled out of the third ODI against Ireland with an elbow injury. Bavuma retired hurt during the second match on Friday, on 35, and was unable to field thereafter. He will consult a specialist on his return to South Africa.

Rassie van der Dussen will captain South Africa in Bavuma's absence, with T20I captain Aiden Markam rested for this series.

The injury is on the same elbow Bavuma hurt in 2022 on a T20 tour of India. It ruled him out of South Africa's tour of England later that year. He made a comeback ahead of the 2022 T20 World Cup, where he captained South Africa to a group-stage exit. Bavuma was removed from the T20 captaincy thereafter, but remained in the ODI role and was moved to Test job as well.

Since then, he has been beset by injuries including a right hamstring niggle - which threatened to keep him out of the 2023 ODI World Cup semi-final - and a left hamstring injury sustained during the Boxing Day Test against India last year - which ruled him out of the rest of that series. Bavuma did not travel to New Zealand for the Tests in February as he was recovering and then contracted to the SA20, which means the only series in this World Test Championship (WTC) cycle he has played fully was the two-Test tour of the West Indies in August this year.

South Africa have six Tests left in the cycle; two against Bangladesh away and two each against Sri Lanka and Pakistan at home. They would need to win at least five of those matches to be in with a chance of making the WTC final next June.

For now, for the white-ball series against Ireland, they are also without allrounder Wiaan Mulder, who has left the tour for personal reasons. They play the third and last ODI of this series on Monday, already having a 2-0 lead. The preceding T20I series finished level at 1-1.