Jansen and Coetzee on road to recovery, likely to be back in action by November

In preparation for a busy Test time, South Africa are also giving Kagiso Rabada some time away.

After being restrained for South Africa's white-ball tour of the UAE, where they will face Afghanistan and Ireland, Marco Jansen and Gerald Coetzee are expected to get back in action by November. The couple are a third of the way through a 12-week fitness wall as part of a CSA program to handle the bowlers and help them recover from or prevent injury.

Both have n't played for South Africa since June, with Coetzee and Jansen both having injuries just before the games. Jansen and Coetzee are now dealing with back issues and Coetzee is hip, but CSA already recognized the necessity of giving them a crack as part of a wider plan to keep bowlers at their best.

We both realized that we needed to step in because both of these young players were having persistent physical and physiological issues that made them want to play strong bowling. We have to offer these people the best chance of being able to perform", Rob Walter, South Africa's white-ball coach, said. " Certainly the load on young bowlers has gone through the roof, particularly people who bowl quickly. In order to ensure that their injuries did n't put up the stop sign]on their careers], we wanted to put them on a conditioning block".

In addition, South Africa is extending Kagiso Rabada's absence in preparation for a busy Test season that will begin with two suits against Bangladesh in October. CSA is now waiting on a protection assessment to ensure the team's travel to Bangladesh- the women's T20 World Cup was moved out of the country to the UAE following social tensions- but expect to enjoy the series at a natural venue. That will be followed by two Testing against each of Sri Lanka and Pakistan before the SA20, Champions Trophy and IPL, leaving this as the only feasible time to rest Rabada.

" If you look at what he has in store for him, starting from when the Bangladesh Test line starts, it's non-stop cricket", Walter said. " When KG puts on a shirt for South Africa, we want him to get delivering his best and we've seen that when his rate is up, that's when he's most powerful and effective. It's just not possible to keep expecting him to do that if we do n't provide these rest, recovery and conditioning windows. This was a great time to give him that option. Since there are n't many Test matches, having our best bowlers available and firing are absolutely necessary. So there's a cooperation between myself and Shukri]Conrad- the red-ball coach ] to make sure that that happens".

" The reality is we ca n't rely on one group of players to win games for South Africa and so the players that you see in the squad are either high potential players that we believe can make big contributions for South Africa moving forward, or the next best players in the country"

Rob Walter

In Rabada's presence, Lungi Ngidi and Ottneil Baartman may direct the rhythm assault in the UAE with Anrich Nortje, who opted out of a national commitment as he works his way up from stress fractures, even omitted. No time has been given for Nortje to consider playing in long formats as he did at the T20 World Cup in 2024.

In the UAE, South Africa will rest its top two middle-order pitchers David Miller and Heinrich Klaasen in preparation for more upcoming routine conflicts, as well as their two front spinner, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi. The tri-series in Pakistan away of next week's Champions Trophy is one example, as it will resonate with the SA20 finishers and so, South Africa will not have a first-choice club accessible. On their journey to the UAE, they are expanding the player basic internationally to accommodate that.

" The reality is we ca n't rely on one group of players to win games for South Africa and so the players that you see in the squad are either high potential players that we believe can make big contributions for South Africa moving forward, or the next best players in the country", Walter said. " We want to make sure that we have a bigger party of people that you get games for South Africa. If we want to stay relying on the same eyes to do that, what happens with wound, what happens with pensions, what happens in all those circumstances? The only way to understand is to keep exposing people to foreign cricket".