Proteas sweat over Kagiso Rabada hamstring injury ahead of bumper home summer

The South African cricket team, the Proteas, are concerned about the potential impact of Kagiso Rabada's right hamstring injury as they prepare for a busy home summer of international matches. Rabada, 31, has not played any cricket since the end of the Indian Premier League (IPL) in May, opting to rest in order to stay fresh for a season filled with eight Test matches, including the World Test Championship title defence, as well as white-ball commitments.

Although he was recently seen batting in the nets during a training session in Cape Town, Cricket South Africa has now confirmed that Rabada suffered a hamstring injury while participating in a winter training program. A home One-Day International (ODI) series against Australia is scheduled for the following month.

Proteas coach Shukri Conrad has been closely monitoring Rabada's progress during the off-season and has expressed confidence in the fast bowler, stating that he is in the best shape of his career, both physically and mentally. Rabada is eagerly anticipating the upcoming summer. The Proteas' international season is set to begin next week with a triangular T20I series in Namibia, followed by a three-match ODI series against Namibia.

However, Rabada, along with several other regular team members, were not included in the Namibia tour due to their participation in the Test series. Another injury concern for the Proteas is left-arm spinner Senuran Muthusamy, who has been ruled out of the first "Test" between South Africa 'A' and Bangladesh 'A', which commenced on Sunday, due to a lower-back spasm.

Muthusamy, who had just recovered from a knee injury sustained during the winter, was hoping to return from his stint with Kent in the English County Championship.