De Villiers ruled out of T20 series

CENTURION: AB de Villiers has been ruled out of the ongoing T20I series against India because of an injured left knee.

He suffered the injury before the fifth ODI in Centurion, and though he played the last two matches of the 50-over series, Cricket South Africa decided to give him time to make a full recovery ahead of the upcoming Tests against Australia next month.

“He suffered a blow to the knee while batting ahead of the fifth ODI, and although he passed a fitness test on Friday, the injury worsened significantly throughout the match,” Mohammed Moosajee, South Africa’s team manager, said.

The selectors decided not to name a replacement for the remaining T20Is.De Villiers had missed the first three ODIs against India too, because of an injury to his right index finger that he sustained during the third Test. South Africa were already fielding a depleted side for the T20Is, after Faf du Plessis and Quinton de Kock were ruled out of the limited-overs matches with a fractured finger and a left wrist injury respectively.The second and third T20Is will be played on February 21 in Centurion and on February 24 in Cape Town.