ICC World Cup 2019 | Dale Steyn to sit out WC opener against England

South Africa pacer Dale Steyn has been ruled out of South Africa's World Cup opener against England on Thursday, coach Ottis Gibson confirmed on Tuesday.  The 35-year-old senior pacer had earlier injured his shoulder during the recent Indian Premier League while playing for Royal Challengers Bangalore and will not be risked at the Oval on May 30.

"He's not quite ready yet, not far away but not ready.

"We think with a six-week tournament there's no real need to force the issue just now. He won't be available for the first game. We've still got 14 others so we'll choose from them," said head coach Ottis Gibson, reported Cricinfo.

Steyn's absence from the squad means that the Proteas will choose a replacement from among the allrounders Chris Morris, Dwayne Pretorius and Andile Phehlukwayo to support a pace attack led by Kagiso Rabada and Lungi Ngidi.

"We looked at the pitch today and it's got a tinge of green to it.I suspect over the next two days that might change. At the moment we have three allrounders - Morris, Phehlukwayo and Pretorius - one of those three could come into the equation and we also got Shamsi, he could also come in to the equation," Gibson added.

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