De Villiers out of first three ODIs with finger injury
DURBAN: South Africa have suffered a massive blow ahead of the six-match ODI series against India when AB de Villiers was ruled out of the first three games due to a finger injury.
The first India vs South Africa ODI will be played in Durban on February 1.
At a time when South Africa will put their number-one ranking on the line against secondranked India, De Villiers injury has been rather ill-timed. According to Cricket South Africa, AB de Villiers sustained the injury to his right index finger during the third Test match against India at the Wanderers in Johannesburg and will require up to two weeks to make a full recovery.
To retain the top spot, South Africa will have to draw the series, while India can top the ODI table if they win the series by 4-2 or better. However, India will slip behind England by a fraction of a point if South Africa win the series by 5-1 or better.
South Africa expect De Villiers will recover in time for the fourth ODI in Johannesburg on February 10 . The selectors have opted not to name a replacement.
TUSSLE FOR NO 1 SPOT
Meanwhile, South Africa and India will vie for the No 1 ranking again when they meet in the ODI series, starting Thursday.
The series starts five days after India retained their top ranking in Tests, although second-placed South Africa closed the points gap by winning the series 2-1.
South Africa are on top of the International Cricket Council one-day rankings by a slender one point from India.
With the points adjusted after each match, there is the potential for the No 1 position to change from match to match.
But South African coach Ottis Gibson is less concerned about the rankings than the long-term goal of winning the 2019 Cricket World Cup in England.
South Africa picked a big squad of 15 for the first three games and Gibson said there was a possibility other players could be considered for the last three ODIs.