Johannesburg, Jan 31 (IANS) Veteran left-handed batter David Miller has been cleared to play in the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup after passing a fitness test, said Cricket South Africa (CSA) on Saturday.
Miller, 36, suffered an adductor injury while playing for Paarl Royals in their final league game of the SA20 league, but is now declared fit to play for the Proteas in the mega event starting on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.
Miller has played 133 T20Is for South Africa and amassed 2630 runs at a strike-rate of 140.56. “Proteas Men’s batter David Miller has been medically cleared for next month’s ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.
“Miller successfully underwent a fitness test this week following an adductor muscle strain sustained while playing for Paarl Royals during the Betway SA20. “He will join the squad on Sunday when they depart for Mumbai from OR Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg,” said CSA in its statement.
Previously, South Africa brought in Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs after Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira were ruled out due to hamstring injury and shoulder fracture respectively. Pacer Lungi Ngidi is also down with a leg issue suffered while playing in SA20, but is expected to be fit for the T20 World Cup.
South Africa, led by Aiden Markram, are drawn in Group D of the upcoming Men’s T20 World Cup alongside Afghanistan, Canada, New Zealand and the United Arab Emirates. They will begin their campaign on February 9 against Canada at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
Before starting their campaign, South Africa will take on India in what is a repeat of the 2024 Men’s T20 World Cup final clash, in a solitary warm-up game to be played at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on February 4. The two teams had met recently in India with the hosts clinching the five-match T20I series 3-1 in December last year.
–IANS
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