South Africa will delay a decision on Kagiso Rabada's availability for the first Test against Australia until “as late as possible,” batting coach Ashwell Prince told a press conference in Durban on Tuesday, according to the Associated Press. The first Test begins Friday at Kingsmead.
Rabada, the Proteas' pace spearhead, is working his way back from a right hamstring injury sustained in winter training. He bowled in a two-day intra-squad match in Durban on Sunday and Monday, and Prince said he came through well: “He came through nicely and bowled well… He's not going to be at 100% straightaway but he is looking good.” Rabada has not played red-ball cricket in almost a year — since South Africa's tour of Pakistan last October — and was later ruled out of matches against India with a rib injury. He holds 341 Test wickets at an average of 22.02, and his most recent Test against Australia was the World Test Championship final at Lord's, where he took 5 for 51 in the first innings as South Africa claimed the title.
The squad was trimmed from 18 to 17 after batter Tony de Zorzi was withdrawn with a hamstring concern, while seven quicks were kept together. Lungi Ngidi, Ottneil Baartman and Kwena Maphaka are all sidelined with hamstring issues, but Gerald Coetzee, Dane Paterson and Anrich Nortje — in line for his first Test since March 2023 — return to the fold.
The three-match series opens at Kingsmead, Durban on Oct. 9–13, before Gqeberha (Oct. 18–22) and Cape Town (Oct. 27–31) — South Africa's first home Tests since beating Australia at Lord's in June. The Proteas sit second on the 2025–27 World Test Championship table, with Australia on top at 80.00 percent.
