T20 World Cup 2022: Dwaine Pretorius ruled out of the tournament after fracturing his thumb

The South African team suffered a critical blow on Thursday as star all-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has been ruled out of the upcoming T20 World Cup in Australia. Pretorius will not be taking part in the three-match ODI series against India after fracturing his left thumb, revealed the CSA via their official Twitter handle.

Dwaine Pretorius, who starred for the South African team in the final T20I against India in Indore, scalping three wickets with the ball, has been ruled out of the ICC event after sustaining a fracture to his left thumb. The news comes as a huge blow for the Proteas as he was the lynchpin for the T20I side with his all-around abilities. The announcement of his injury was made via Proteas Men's Twitter handle.

#PROTEAS SQUAD UPDATE 🚨

All-rounder Dwaine Pretorius has been ruled out of the three-match ODI series against India and the proceeding ICC Men’s T20 World Cup due to a fracture of his left thumb.#BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/SZqvx0x5Ro

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) October 6, 2022

Marco Jansen, who was one of their reserves for the T20 World Cup, has got the nod to replace the injured Pretorius ahead of Andile Phehlukwayo. The tall left armer will be a handful in the Australian conditions and is no mug with the bat either. But his inexperience in the shortest format of the game will be tested in a competition of such monumental stature.

South Africa eyes crucial World Cup Super League points against India

Coming to the ODI series, South Africa, unlike their counterparts have a full-strength squad at their disposal. The series is insignificant for the hosts, who have already qualified for the World Cup next year and have fielded a second-string squad for the three-match series.

But the visitors are desperate for World Cup Super League points and won't mind playing against a weakened Indian side in a bid to secure maximum points from the series. The Proteas will be getting a taste of things to come in next year's World Cup in the subcontinent nation if they manage to seal the automatic qualification for the mega event. The under-fire South African skipper Temba Bavuma will also hope to get his name among the runs with the T20 World Cup fast approaching.