World Cup 2019: Dale Steyn ruled out of the tournament with a shoulder injury

What’s the story?

South African pacer Dale Steyn has been ruled out of the World Cup 2019, owing to a shoulder injury.

In case you didn’t know….

Steyn, who was partially fit when he was named in the South African World Cup squad, missed his side's first two World Cup games. Steyn also didn’t feature in any of the warm-up games that South Africa played just before the tournament. The pacer has been struggling with the injury since 2016.

The heart of the matter

Steyn has been ruled out of the remainder of the World Cup with a shoulder injury and fellow pacer Beuran Hendricks has been named as his replacement in the South African squad. It is a huge blow for South Africa, who are yet to win a game at this World Cup. The Proteas, who will next face India on Wednesday, will also miss the services of Lungi Ngidi against the Asian giants.

Prior to the tournament’s opening game, South African skipper Faf du Plessis admitted that Steyn is not fully fit.

“He was probably about 60 percent fit when the squad was picked, so we anticipated for this to happen, but a fit Dale Steyn makes our bowling attack a very, very strong one.”

What’s next?

Aafter facing defeats in their first two games against England and Bangladesh respectively, South Africa will be desperate to return to winning ways against India, who will be playing their first game of the tournament.

With Steyn ruled out of the tournament and Ngidi also set to miss the game against India, it remains to be seen how South Africa’s bowling line-up will fare against an extremely strong Indian batting unit tomorrow at the Ageas Bowl, Southampton.

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