South Africa's injury woes deepen ahead of Champions Trophy 2025

Cricket South Africa (CSA) has been dealt another blow with the injury of young talent Gerald Coetzee, adding to the growing list of players sidelined ahead of the Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan and the UAE.

Coetzee, who was being considered as a replacement for the injured Anrich Nortje, has been ruled out due to a hamstring niggle suffered during the SA20 tournament.

The injury to Coetzee is a significant setback for the Proteas, who are already without several key players, including Nortje, Ottniel Baartman, Nandre Burger, and Lizaad Williams.

Burger is nursing a lower back stress fracture, while Williams is recovering from a knee injury. Although Lungi Ngidi and Wiaan Mulder have returned to action, the team’s options are dwindling rapidly.

Earlier, Nortje who was named in South Africa’s squad on Monday, but 48 hours on officials have said he will not recover in time from a back problem ahead of the Group B opener against Afghanistan on Feb. 21. England and Australia are also in the pool.

Nortje has had persistent injury issues over several seasons. He has not played a test match since March 2023 and a one-day international since September of that year.

He was fit enough to feature in last year’s Twenty20 World Cup, where South Africa lost in the final to India.

The Champions Trophy is scheduled to begin on February 19 with a match between Pakistan and New Zealand and South Africa’s injury woes are likely to impact their chances in the eight-nation tournament.

Before the Champions Trophy, the opening ceremony will be held, with teams being invited and all captains will participate in the traditional media session in Pakistan.

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