South Africa suffer double blow ahead of T20 World Cup
South Africa’s prospects of winning the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 have suffered a double blow, with injuries forcing late changes to the Proteas squad and prompting bookmakers to reassess their title chances.
Cricket South Africa confirmed that batters Tony de Zorzi and Donovan Ferreira have been ruled out of both the upcoming three-match T20I series against the West Indies and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India and Sri Lanka.
ALSO READ: Top cricket betting sites
De Zorzi has failed to recover in time from a right hamstring tear sustained during last month’s ODI series against India, while Ferreira suffered a fractured left clavicle during an SA20 match on January 17.
The injury setbacks have already been reflected in early World Cup betting, with South Africa’s outright odds drifting from around 5.50 to 7.75 as uncertainty grows around the squad’s fitness and depth.
Ryan Rickelton and Tristan Stubbs have been named as replacements in the 15-player World Cup squad.
Compounding concerns, senior batter David Miller has been sidelined from next week’s T20Is after injuring his adductor muscle. His World Cup availability will depend on a forthcoming fitness assessment. Rubin Hermann has been drafted in for the West Indies series.
South Africa kick off their T20 World Cup campaign against Canada on February 10 at Narendra Modi Stadium, with the Proteas expected to be heavy favourite against the cricket minnow with South African betting sites.
India is the 2.20 favourite to win the T20 World Cup, ahead of Australia (4.95) and England (5.50).
