Injured Bavuma ruled out; Maharaj and Miller to lead white-ball teams in England

Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of South Africa's all-format tour of England and two T20Is against Ireland after picking up an elbow injury during the recent T20Is in India. Keshav Maharaj and David Miller have been named captains of the ODI and T20I sides respectively in Bavuma's absence.

Bavuma was hurt when diving to complete a single in the fourth T20I against India and fell on his left arm, injuring both soft tissue and bone. He will not require surgery and is expected to take around eight weeks to recover and is aiming to return for the World Cup.

The tour will mark the international comeback for Rilee Rossouw. Rossouw, the 32-year-old batter, played the last of his 51 international games in October 2016 during the T20 World Cup in India, and wasn't considered for selection since signing a Kolpak deal with Hampshire in 2017. More recently, he has returned to play in South Africa's domestic setup and was the leading run-scorer in the last season's provincial T20 tournament, while he is currently third on the run-scoring chart in the Vitality Blast.

Meanwhile, 21-year-old quick bowler Gerald Coetzee has received his maiden international call-up. Both Rossouw and Coetzee have been included only in the T20I squads.

The T20Is against England and Ireland are the last official games South Africa are scheduled to play before the T20 World Cup. That squad will see a return for Andile Phehlukwayo, who was not on the tour to India, and Aiden Markram, who missed the India series after contracting Covid-19. Tristan Stubbs, who debuted in India, retained his place.

"The T20 format is a high priority for us at the moment," selection convener Victor Mpitsang said in a statement. "We are looking to give opportunities to players that we are interested in seeing and working out the best combinations, while also trying to balance our desire to maintain enough consistency within the set up that the players are used to playing together as a team by the time they reach Australia for the World Cup."

That leg of the tour will be preceded by three ODIs that do not form part of the World Cup Super League and provide an opportunity to rest players. Kagiso Rabada, the fast-bowling frontman, will sit out as part of his workload management. Reeza Hendricks, Heinrich Klaasen, Khaya Zondo, Anrich Nortje and Lizaad Williams have all been included in the squad after not being part of the group that played against Bangladesh in March.

All six players who had opted out of the Test matches against Bangladesh in March-April and chose to go to the IPL instead have been brought back to the squad for the longest format. Markram, Rassie van der Dussen, Rabada, Marco Jansen, Lungi Ngidi, and Nortje - who has not played a Test since South Africa's tour of West Indies last June - are all in the group.

Sarel Erwee is likely to keep his place as an opening partner to captain Dean Elgar, while Zondo and Glenton Stuurman, who played against Bangladesh [Zondo as a Covid-19 substitute], have kept their spots. South Africa's Test squad had two spinners - Maharaj and Simon Harmer, who made a comeback from a Kolpak hiatus against Bangladesh.

South Africa are currently second on the World Test Championship points table and the three-Test series in England is crucial to their chances of qualifying for the final. The full tour will run from July 19 to September 12.