Johannesburg - The Proteas suffered a dreadful blow shortly before their key Group 2 match against Pakistan in Sydney, with 'finisher' David Miller ruled out of the match because of back spasms.
Temba Bavuma said omitting Miller was a precaution, with Heinrich Klaasen called into the starting line-up as the replacement. In a second change to the Proteas starting team from the one that beat India at the weekend, Tabraiz Shamsi was called up, to replace Keshav Maharaj. That change is somewhat surprising, because both spinners operated well together when South Africa were last at the Sydney Cricket Ground and beat Bangladesh.
Babar Azam chose to bat, saying he felt the pitch was slow and dry, and would help the spinners later in the match. Bavuma said he would have batted first too. Asked about his own form, Bavuma, who's scored just 14 runs in the tournament said: "The form is not there. I'm fortunate to have a great bunch of guys, and I'm getting support from them."
Pakistan must win to keep alive their hopes of qualifying for the semifinals. The Proteas will secure a final four berth with a victory.
Fakhar Zaman has been ruled out of the T20 World Cup, hours after Pakistan admitted they took a risk bringing him to the tournament. He had come to Australia carrying a knee injury, which he aggravated during their match against Netherlands on Sunday. Mohammad Haris, who was a travelling reserve, has been approved as his replacement by the ICC technical committee.
Teams:
South Africa - Temba Bavuma (capt), Quinton de Kock, Rilee Rossouw, Aiden Markram, Heinrich Klaasen, Tristan Stubbs, Wayne Parnell, Tabraiz Shamsi, Kagiso Rabada, Anrich Nortje, Lungi Ngidi.
Pakistan - Babar Azam (capt), Mohammad Rizwan, Shan Masood, Mohammad Haris, Iftikhar Ahmed, Shadab Khan, Muhammad Nawaz, Mohammad Wasim Jr. Shaheen Shah Afridi, Haris Rauf, Naseem Shah.
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