Dale Steyn has been ruled out of South Africa’s World Cup 2019 opener, against England at The Oval on Thursday.
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Though South Africa’s coach Ottis Gibson did not confirm Steyn’s unavailability in as many words, he noted that the pace spearhead “is not fully ready yet and we feel that in a six-week tournament there is no need to press the issue right now,” after the team’s training session on Tuesday (May 28).
Steyn hasn’t featured in any of South Africa’s two warm-up matches since landing in the UK. He was a part of the 15 for the washed-out practice match against West Indies but South Africa batted first. In their second warm-up, the 35-year-old wasn’t named in South Africa’s line-up.
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The South African management is hopeful of having him match-ready ahead of their second league game at the World Cup, against India on June 5.
Earlier in April, Steyn was a late injury replacement for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in IPL 2019 but had to pull out after just two games due to an inflammation in his troublesome right shoulder that he’d fractured back in November 2016. Steyn hasn’t bowled in a competitive match since.
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Steyn’s fitness has been a key area of concern for South Africa since his premature return from the IPL, even though the pacer made it to the World Cup squad on the back of an issue-free domestic season.
