South African cricket team have suffered a blow ahead of the first of the three ODIs against Afghanistan on Wednesday as Temba Bavuma will miss the fixture due to an illness. Hence, Aiden Markram will stand in for Bavuma as the Proteas gear up for their first-ever bilateral ODI series against Afghanistan.
Although Bavuma has struggled to pick up the required tempo on the T20I format, the right-hander is a regular fixture in the 50-over format despite his underwhelming performance in the 2023 World Cup. The veteran averages a healthy 45.81 in 38 ODIs with five centuries alongside a best of 144.
Markram, who is the T20I captain and led the Proteas to the T20 World Cup 2024 final in June, has captained the national team in 12 ODIs, winning and losing six each. Afghanistan received a major boost as they welcomed Rashid Khan back in the side, but Ibrahim Zadran and Mujeeb-ur-Rahman are unavailable.
South Africa and Afghanistan squads for the ODI series:
South Africa squad: Temba Bavuma (capt), Ottneil Baartman, Nandre Burger, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Nqabayomzi Peter, Andile Simelane, Jason Smith, Tristan Stubbs, Kyle Verreynne, Lizaad Williams.
Afghanistan squad: Hashmatullah Shahidi (capt), Rahmat Shah, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ikram Alikhil, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Darwish Rasooli, Azmatullah Omarzai, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Rashid Khan, Nangeyalia Kharote, AM Ghazanfar, Fazalhaq Farooqi, Bilal Sami, Naveed Zadran, Fareed Ahmad.
