George Linde, a left-arm spin bowling all-rounder, will join the South African team as a reserve player to cover for Aiden Markram at the Champions Trophy. Markram sustained a right hamstring injury during the match against England and had to leave the field. He is scheduled to undergo a fitness test on Tuesday evening to assess his availability for the semi-final match against New Zealand.
Markram is the latest addition to a long list of injured South African players. Prior to the tournament, fast bowlers Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, and Lizaad Williams were already ruled out due to injuries.
Linde is expected to join the South African team on Tuesday evening. He will not immediately replace Markram in the official squad unless Markram is declared unfit and the event technical committee of the ICC approves the change. South Africa likely added Linde as a precaution, especially if they advance to the final in Dubai against India, where spin bowling might be more effective. Currently, the team has two specialist spinners, Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, although only Maharaj has experience playing in Pakistan. In their recent game against New Zealand in Dubai, India utilized four spin bowlers.
In the 2025 SA20 league, Linde was instrumental in MI Cape Town’s championship victory. He scored 161 runs at a strike rate of 153.33 and took 11 wickets with an economy rate of 6.29 in 11 matches. More recently, in the One-Day Challenge Division One for Western Province, he scored 106 runs and claimed four wickets in five games.
Left-arm fast bowler Kwena Maphaka is also traveling with the squad as a reserve player. Meanwhile, Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi have recovered from illnesses and are expected to participate in training this evening.
