Champions Trophy 2025: South Africa call up George Linde as standby for injured Aiden Markram

George Linde was away on Monday from Western Province training as he made his way to the ICC Champions Trophy, increasing concerns about Aiden Markram’s fitness ahead of South Africa’s semi-final showdown against New Zealand which is set to happen on Wednesday, March 5.

Aiden Markram led the side in Temba Bavuma’s absence on Saturday, March 1 against England. During the game Markram experienced soreness in his hamstring and subsequently left the field. Initially though he played down the injury’s severity. However, his condition now appears more serious. 

“I think it's all right. It was mostly precautionary more than anything else. It feels okay. Hopefully, over the next few days, I can get some good rest, sort it out, and be good to go from there,"  Markram had said after the England game, as quoted by South African publication Independent Online.

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Following the England match, the Proteas traveled to Dubai before coming back to Pakistan 18 hours later after their semi-final location was determined. Upon landing in Lahore, the team stated that Markram would have to undergo a fitness analysis on Tuesday, March 4 to determine his availability. Neverthless, Linde’s sudden call-up indicates that Markram’s injury may be worse than initially expected. 

The 33-year-old Linde last turned up for South Africa in September 2021 against Sri Lanka but has been in good form across all formats in recent times. His splendid performances earned him a comeback last year to the national T20I side, and he played an important role in MI Cape Town's SA20 championship win. 

Meanwhile, Markram had a good outing against Afghanistan, scoring an unbeaten 52 off 36 balls. The 30-year-old has only batted once in the tournament though.

South Africa is also examining the fitness of Tony de Zorzi and Bavuma, with both getting a speedy recovery from illness. They are expected to train on Tuesday to assess whether they can play or not.  

When it comes to Linde's potential inclusion, according to tournament regulations, any squad replacement requires approval from the Event Technical Committee, which includes ICC and PCB officials along with former Proteas great Shaun Pollock.