Sydney: J.P. Duminy has withdrawn from South Africa's squad for the limited-overs international series against Australia due to a chronic knee injury and will take a six-week break for rest and rehabilitation ahead of the World Cup.
South Africa team manager Mohammed Moosajee said Duminy aggravated the patella tendon injury in his left knee in the Twenty20 series loss to Australia, which ended Sunday when the hosts clinched a 2-1 win with a ball to spare in Sydney.
It was the same injury that bothered the 30-year-old allrounder in the tri-series in Zimbabwe and caused him to miss the Champions League T20 tournament.
"The recommendation from the medical committee is that he returns to South Africa for a six-week period of rest and rehabilitation, particularly ahead of a busy season at home and the ICC World Cup in three months," Moosajee said in a statement Monday.
Duminy didn't take a wicket during the three-game T20 series in Australia, but held the South African innings together in the second game with a resilient 49.
With an average of almost 40 with the bat and with his 45 wickets coming at an average of 40 and an economy rate of 5.02, Duminy is expected to be an important contributor as top-ranked South Africa bids to win the World Cup for the first time.
Farhaan Behardien was drafted into the ODI squad as Duminy's replacement for the five-match series which starts Friday in Perth. Marchant de Lange has also been added to the squad to bolster the pace-bowling resources.
South Africa squad: A.B. de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Quinton de Kock, Faf du Plessis, David Miller, Ryan McLaren, Kyle Abbott, Dale Steyn, Wayne Parnell, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Imran Tahir, Farhaan Behardien, Marchant de Lange, Rilee Rossouw, Vernon Philander.
