Kagiso Rabada ruled out of first Test against Australia in Durban

Star South Africa fast bowler Kagiso Rabada has been ruled out of the first Test against Australia, beginning on Friday, October 9 in Durban. Rabada sustained a hamstring injury during winter training and hasn’t played a match since the Indian Premier League 2026 (IPL 2026).

Rabada’s last Test appearance came during the tour to Pakistan in October 2025. He did return to bowling during South Africa’s recent intra-squad training match and also took part in the training session at Kingsmead.

However, South Africa captain Temba Bavuma has said the team is taking a cautious approach with their premier pacer and will give him extra time to fully recover.

"We did go the conservative route and give him a couple of extra days to get as close as he can be to 100% fitness. We're confident in our medical team to get him to the place where we need him to be but they haven't officially handed over Kagiso, if I could put it that way. He's under their control. Obviously for us, as soon as he gets the green light, we expect him to be within that starting line-up," Bavuma said in the pre-match press conference.

In Rabada's absence, South Africa have brought in Anrich Nortje, who doesn’t hold a central contract and will be playing his first Test since March 2023. He will lead the pace attack alongside two other quicks: Marco Jansen and Wiaan Mulder.

South Africa name two spinners for 1st Test

Bavuma called Nortje the team’s X-factor, hailing him for his ability to consistently click over 150 kmph.

"A guy like Anrich is hard to ignore. He's X-Factor. There's not many guys around who are bowling 150-plus and as a batter, that's not something I would look forward to. He fits in very well into our approach from a bowling point of view with regards to the fast bowlers,” said Bavuma.

South Africa have also brought in two spinners in their XI: Keshav Maharaj and Simon Harmer, who last played together in their last Test in India in November 2025.

South Africa’s playing XI for the first Test: Aiden Markram, Ryan Rickelton, David Bedingham, Temba Bavuma (c), Tristan Stubbs, Wiaan Mulder, Kyle Verreynne (wk), Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, Simon Harmer, Anrich Nortje