South Africa has encountered a significant setback ahead of the ODI series against Australia as Kagiso Rabada, their star pacer, has been ruled out with right ankle inflammation. Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced on August 19, 2025, that Rabada underwent a scan on Monday, August 18, which confirmed the injury’s severity. According to the CSA statement, “The 30-year-old underwent a scan on Monday, which confirmed the extent of the injury. He will remain in Australia and undergo rehabilitation under the supervision of the Proteas medical staff.” Following Rabada’s withdrawal, young left-arm pacer Kwena Maphaka has been called up as his replacement for the ODI series. Maphaka recently made headlines as the leading wicket-taker in the concluded T20I series, amassing 19 wickets at an average of 12.56 along with a four-wicket haul.
Maphaka, 19, debuted in ODIs against Pakistan in December 2024 and picked up four wickets in his first game, despite South Africa’s loss. So far, he has five wickets from two ODI matches but has conceded runs at an economy rate of 7.70 per over.
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However, for the opening ODI at Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns, Maphaka was not included in the playing XI. Instead, Dewald Brevis and spin-bowling all-rounder Prenelan Subrayen were handed their ODI debut caps by captain Temba Bavuma. In the words of Bavuma at the coin toss, “We’ve got Brevis and Subrayen in today, quite excited at seeing what they can do. We’ll want to play according to the conditions and want the guys to enjoy playing.”
Squad Update
Proteas Men’s fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has been ruled out of the three-match One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia due to inflammation of his right ankle.
The 30-year-old underwent a scan on Monday, which confirmed the extent of the injury. He… pic.twitter.com/8SYrKWMgHz
— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) August 19, 2025
Here are the playing XIs for the first ODI:
Australia: Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh (captain), Marnus Labuschagne, Cameron Green, Josh Inglis (wicketkeeper), Alex Carey, Aaron Hardie, Ben Dwarshuis, Nathan Ellis, Adam Zampa, Josh Hazlewood.
South Africa: Aiden Markram (wicketkeeper), Ryan Rickelton, Temba Bavuma (captain), Matthew Breetzke, Tristan Stubbs, Dewald Brevis, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Prenelan Subrayen, Nandre Burger, Lungi Ngidi.
South Africa’s updated ODI squad for this series includes Temba Bavuma (captain), Ryan Rickelton (wicketkeeper), Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Aiden Markram, Dewald Brevis, Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Nandre Burger, Matthew Breetzke, Senuran Muthusamy, Tony de Zorzi, Corbin Bosch, Prenelan Subrayen, and Kwena Maphaka