South Africa's pace spearhead Dale Steyn was Tuesday ruled out of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 after failing to recover from a shoulder injury, a development that could hasten his international retirement.
South Africa have named left-arm seamer Beuran Hendricks as his replacement after approval from the Event Technical committee.
The 35-year-old Steyn had sustained a second shoulder injury during the IPL where he played a couple of games for Royal Challengers Bangalore.
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"The ICC has confirmed that the Event Technical Committee of the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2019 has approved Beuran Hendricks as a replacement player for Dale Steyn in the South Africa squad for the remainder of the tournament," a media release stated.
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"Bowler Steyn has suffered a second shoulder injury which has not responded to treatment and has ruled him out of bowling for the foreseeable future. His replacement Hendricks is a left-arm fast bowler," it further stated.
While Steyn had done an intense rehab programme and was also bowling at the nets, he never looked the part.
He was seen bowling to Hashim Amla on Monday afternoon from a near full run-up for close to half an hour.
The 2019 edition was supposed to be his last World Cup and the injury could well mean a sad end to the career of one of the greatest fast bowlers of the modern era.
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(PTI)
