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Australian cricketers Steve Smith and Mitchell Starc have been ruled out of Kangaroos' limited-over tour to South Africa. Smith sustained a wrist injury in the recently concluded Ashes tournament, whereas Starc is recovering from a groin injury, he suffered in the same tournament.
Both Smith and Starc will join their side for the forthcoming series against India. The former Aussie captain will be replaced by Ashton Turner in the T20I matches, whereas Marbus Labuschagne has been called for the ODIs.
George Bailey, the national selection panel chief said, " The compacted Ashes series and the World Test Championship was a heavy load for the group, and we are taking a conservative approach to the build-up to the World Cup." He added, "With the World Cup the priority of the squad, it was determined on advice that it was best for Steve and Mitchell to join the group in India by which time we expect them to be fully fit and available for the Indian ODI series, plus the World Cup warm-up fixture."
The South African series will run parallelly to the Australia A series, where Labuschagne has been named to join the team. The team will lock horns with New Zealand A in Queensland for ODI matches.
