South African pacer Gerald Coetzee has emerged as a major doubt for the upcoming white-ball series against Pakistan after sustaining a muscle injury during the one-off T20I against Namibia in Windhoek on Saturday, October 11.
Coetzee, who has been troubled by injuries throughout his career, reportedly suffered a pectoral muscle strain during his first spell at the Namibia Cricket Ground. The right-arm quick bowled with good pace early on but was forced to leave the field after just 1.3 overs, including four wides, and did not return to complete his quota.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) later confirmed his absence from the remainder of the match, which the Proteas went on to lose by four wickets.
โ๐ฐ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐. ๐ฏ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ โ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ท๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐,โ ๐ ๐ช๐บ๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐.
Injury Woes Continue for Coetzee
The 23-year-old has endured a string of fitness setbacks over the past year. A groin injury had already ruled him out of the Champions Trophy 2025, but he made a successful return in the Zimbabwe series earlier this year. Since then, Coetzee featured for South Africa A against New Zealand A and was included in both the ODI and T20I squads for the Pakistan tour.
โ๐ฎ๐๐๐๐๐ โ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐,โ ๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ .
Coetzee last played red-ball cricket in November 2024 before being sidelined for the remainder of South Africaโs Test summer due to another groin strain.
Adding to South Africaโs growing injury list, Kwena Maphaka has also been ruled out of both the Namibia fixture and the Pakistan series after suffering a hamstring injury during a domestic red-ball match.
Proteas Still Strong in Pace Department
Despite the setbacks, South Africa boasts impressive depth in their pace attack. Nandre Burger and Lizaad Williams have both made successful comebacks following long injury layoffs โ Burger from a stress fracture and Williams after knee surgery.
The Proteasโ Test squad to face Pakistan includes Kagiso Rabada, Marco Jansen, Corbin Bosch, and Wiaan Mulder, giving them a formidable pace arsenal even if Coetzee fails to recover in time.
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