SA vs AFG: Heinrich Klaasen ruled out as South Africa suffer injury blow in Karachi

Champions Trophy: South Africa were without their best batter of spin, Heinrich Klaasen, in their Group B opener against Afghanistan in Karachi. The SunRisers Hyderabad star was ruled out due to an elbow injury concern.

In Short

• Heinrich Klaasen was ruled out due to a left elbow injury
• The star batter picked up a thumb injury earlier in February
• South Africa won the toss and opted to bat against Afghanistan

South Africa suffered a big blow ahead of their Champions Trophy opener against Afghanistan as star batter Heinrich Klaasen was ruled out due to an injury. The superstar batter, a fine player of spin, was left out on the bench as a precautionary measure due to a left elbow soft tissue injury, Cricket South Africa said after captain Temba Bavuma won the toss and opted to bat at the National Stadium in Karachi.

There were doubts around Klaasen's availability for the Group B match against Afghanistan after he suffered a blow to his right thumb while keeping wickets in a tri-series match against Pakistan last week. However, it appears that the wicketkeeper-batter picked a fresh injury concern. | SA vs AFG Updates |

South Africa included opener Ryan Rickelton in the XI in place of Heinrich Klaasaen. Captain Bavuma sacrificed the opening spot to ensure Rickelton opened alongside Tony de Zorzi. South Africa also picked only one specialist spinner in their XI after leaving out Tabriaz Shamsi.

Afghanistan, on the other hand, went with a three-man spin attack, which included Noor Ahmed. Afghanistan brought in Nangeyalia Kharote as Allah Ghazanfar's replacement, but they went with Noor, Rashid Khan and Mohammad Nabi in the XI for their opening match.

It was a special day for Hashmatullah Shahidi-led Afghanistan as they featured in the premier eight-team tournament for the first time in their history.

SOUTH AFRICA VS AFGHANISTAN TEAM NEWS

Afghanistan (Playing XI) - Rahmanullah Gurbaz (WK), Ibrahim Zadran, Sediqullah Atal, Rahmat Shah, Hashmatullah Shahidi (C), Azmatullah Omarzai, Gulbadin Naib, Mohammad Nabi, Rashid Khan, Noor Ahmad, Fazalhaq Farooqi.

South Africa (Playing XI) - Ryan Rickelton (WK), Tony de Zorzi, Temba Bavuma (C), Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Wiaan Mulder, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.

For Afghanistan, 40-year-old Mohammad Nabi became the fourth oldest man to make his debut in the Champions Trophy.

South Africa will be keen on making a good start to the tournament after having been below-par in the recent tri-series in Pakistan. South Africa also lost 1-2 to Afghanistan in an ODI series in Sharjah last year.