South African opening batsman Herschelle Gibbs will miss the first Test against Sri Lanka next week because of an ankle injury, a team spokesperson said on Thursday.
”He is out of the first Test” starting in the southern port city of Galle on August 4, spokesperson Gerald de Kock said.
Gibbs, who sprained his ankle during a training session in Pretoria, is expected to be fit for the second Test starting in Colombo on August 13.
Andrew Puttick is most likely to take Gibbs’s place in the South Africa line-up, De Kock said.
”We are going to play Andrew in the three-day warm-up match,” De Kock said.
South Africa played Sri Lanka for the first time in 1993 after their readmission to international cricket and have dominated their encounters, winning eight matches in 13 meetings. Sri Lanka have won just one Test match.
The two teams met last in 2002 for a two-match series in South Africa, which the home team won 2-0.
South Africa begin their Sri Lankan tour with a warm-up match against a Sri Lanka Cricket President’s XI at Colombo Cricket Club ground starting on Friday. — Sapa-AP