Heinrich Klaasen to replace injured Rudi Second in Tests, confirms Cricket South Africa
Cricket South Africa announced, on Saturday, that Heinrich Klaasen has been called up for the three-match Test series in India, during the month of October. The wicketkeeper-batsman will replace Rudi Second, who suffered an injury during a practice with South Africa ‘A’ and will need a surgery.
Second’s hopes of representing his nation for the first time was cut short during his preparations to face an India ‘A’ side in the lead up to the series. The 30-year-old is a seasoned first-class campaigner and has featured in 105 games and has scored 6893 runs at an average of 45.05. The press release by South Africa’s cricket board did not mention any details of Second's injury, only stating that it happened while he was with the South Africa A squad.
"Klaasen is part of the one-day squad for the South Africa A tour and he will now be added to the squad in Second's place for the four-day series that will assist his preparation for the Proteas Test series," Corrie van Zyl, Cricket South Africa Acting Director of Cricket, was quoted saying by Cricbuzz.
Klaasen is yet to make his Test debut but has featured in 14 ODIs and nine T20Is for South Africa. He was a part of the shorter format matches when India toured the Proteas in 2018-19.
South Africa will start their tour of India with a three-match T20I series on September 15, with the Test series to begin on October 2 in Visakhapatnam.
