Miller sustains injury; South Africa’s injury concerns increase ahead of CT

David Miller sustained a groin injury during the SA20 League clash on January 27. South Africa’s injury concerns increased with Miller’s condition ahead of the Champions Trophy.

What happened to Miller?

South Africa’s senior middle-order batter David Miller suffered a groin injury while playing a SAT20 match between Paarl Royals and Durban Super Giants. Yesterday during the match, Miller tried to stop the ball after Marcus Stoinis managed to find a gap. Miller failed to save the boundary and also sustained the injury.

Also Read: Gongadi Trisha Becomes First Centurion of Women’s U19 T20 World Cup

After the match he told SuperSport, “My right groin is a little tight. It’s just a little tweak. Tried to get off before it could get any worse.” Miller left the ground immediately and did not even take any assistance from the Paarl Royals staff. Meanwhile, his team won the match in a last over thriller by four wickets. 

Injury concerns rise for South Africa

Apart from Miller, South Africa’s another player from the Champions Trophy squad is missing the action. Lungi Ngidi missed fourth consecutive games following his injury. He has so far played three matches for Paarl Royals this season. Trevor Penney the Royals coach said, “With Lungi, we know big fast bowlers like him, they sometimes needed a couple of weeks to get back into that full flow and the rhythm.” 

He added, “It’s a tough thing for fast bowlers. He was out [with a groin injury] for like eight weeks. So he’s on a programme where he’s almost back now. So we played him in the first few games so he could get some game time. And I’m sure when we go to the Highveld, he’s going to be straight back in,” Penney said.    

Anrich Nortje was also ruled out of the tournament following his back injury. His replacement in the squad, Gerald Coetzee is not playing in the SA20 League yet due to a hamstring injury. His last appearance in SA20 League was on January 14.

With injury concerns looming over, the Proteas management will have a close look at the recovery of these players ahead of the Champions Trophy. The deadline to make changes to the CT squad is February 11.

Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on WhatsApp, Facebook, Twitter, Telegram,  and Instagram