Proteas coach Mark Boucher has confirmed that Keshav Maharaj is an injury concern ahead of Thursday’s second Test against Pakistan.
The South Africans are hoping to bounce back in Rawalpindi after a suffering a seven-wicket defeat in Karachi last week.
After losing Tabraiz Shami to injury 20 minutes before the first Test got under way, the Proteas will yet again have to make a late selection decision after Maharaj was sent for scans on Tuesday.
Boucher told the media on Wednesday that Maharaj suffered some rib injury during a training session and he will be assessed ahead of Thursday.
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‘Kesh [Keshav] sort of played up in practice yesterday [Tuesday]. During a session, he turned around and felt a pain in his rib area. He complained that it was a little bit sore. He went for scans with the doc, came back and there is something there. It might be a minor little tear or a bruising of some sorts,’ Boucher said.
‘He then bowled quite a few overs today. I think he bowled close to 15 overs to really test himself. He felt fine and that the pain was bearable. We are not ready to make a call on him yet, because you never know how his body will react overnight.’
The Proteas medical team will give Maharaj time to recover overnight hoping he will be ready come Thursday.
‘If he wakes up in the morning and he knows he is well, he needs to give us an early call on how he feels. As a player you are the only one who really knows if the pain is bearable to bowl through, so I’m going to have to trust Kesh on this. If he wakes up in the morning and he is fine to play then he will get the nod,’ Boucher explained.
The head coach also hinted at the possible inclusion of Wiaan Mulder for the second and final clash of the series.
The all-rounder was superb in the recent Test series against Sri Lanka and could be on the team sheet.
‘We haven’t selected a final XI yet. Wiaan Mulder is certainly in the plans. A guy who is able to hit good areas for long periods of time is always going to be difficult to play, especially how we batted in the first Test. He will add a different sort of look to the side as well with the extra all-rounder position,’ added Boucher.
