Cricket South Africa evaluating Rabada's back niggle

South Africa’s injury worries continue to mount with Kagiso Rabada undergoing a scan for a back niggle a day after being rested from Delhi Capitals’ league fixture against Chennai Super Kings on Wednesday.

Rabada has topped the wicket charts in IPL 2019, and has been pivotal in Capitals’ march to their first playoffs since 2012.

He had complained about some discomfort after his most-recent outing against Royal Challengers Bangalore on Sunday. On Thursday, Cricket South Africa confirmed to ESPNcricinfo that the scans done on Rabada’s back had been shared by the franchise, and their medical team was contemplating the next course of action.

With South Africa’s World Cup opener against England exactly four weeks away, a serious injury to the leader of their attack could seriously hamper their preparations. South Africa are already dealing with multiple niggles in their squad. They are also anxiously awaiting further news of the prognosis for Dale Steyn, who pulled out of Royal Challengers Bangalore’s IPL campaign a week ago after his right shoulder flared up.

Should Rabada need a spell on the sidelines to deal with an injury, South Africa will go into the World Cup with virtually every member of their bowling attack – bar the 40 year old Imran Tahir – on the mend from recent injuries.

Having missed much of the home summer with ligament damage in his knee, Lungi Ngidi picked up a side strain during the fifth ODI against Sri Lanka in March, while Anrich Nortje strained his shoulder in the same game, meaning he was unable to take up a contract with Kolkata Knight Riders. Tabraiz Shamsi has also been rested from the ongoing CSA T20 Challenge in order to fully recover from some stiffness in his back.

Both Ngidi and Nortje have since returned to competitive action, bowling a controlled number of overs against the visiting Afghanistan Academy side last week. But it is not yet fully clear when Steyn might be fully fit. With South Africa’s pre-World Cup camp starting in 10 days, an injury to Rabada could complicate things even further.