Charl Langeveldt will be on the sidelines when the Cape Cobras play a crucial Champions League T20 match against the Otago Volts in Hyderabad on Saturday.
Fast bowler Langeveldt suffered a shoulder injury during the victory against the Royal Challengers Bangalore in Bangalore on Thursday.
Team doctor and manager Peter Sandell said the preliminary results of a scan indicated that Langeveldt had not done major damage to his right shoulder when he landed heavily in trying to take a diving catch in the outfield. It was the bowler’s first match since an operation on the same shoulder during the off-season.
”It appears to be a softish injury in the shoulder joint which should not require further surgery,” said Dr Sandell. ”It should settle down in a couple of weeks.”
Despite their thrilling five-wicket win against the Challengers, the Cobras need to beat Otago, the New Zealand champions, to make sure of going through to the second phase of the tournament.
A win by the Volts, followed by a Bangalore win against the New Zealanders, would leave the teams level on points. The two sides to go through would then be decided on net run rate, which could put the Cobras in a precarious position because they won with only two balls to spare on Thursday.
If the Cobras win, however, they will take the two points they gained from their fellow qualifiers through to the next round. They will also have a break of a week before their next match, which will allow Dr Sandell and the team management more time to assess Langeveldt’s injury.
”We won’t make a decision before Monday,” said Dr Sandell. ”We would love Charl to be able to play in the rest of the tournament but the problem is that it is his bowling arm and there is also a question of him being bowling fit.”
Langeveldt’s absence will probably mean a choice between fast bowler Francois Plaatjies and all-rounder Stiaan van Zyl.
The Otago Volts squad includes four members of the New Zealand team that played in the ICC Champions Trophy against Australia on Monday, Brendon McCullum, Aaron Redmond, Neil Broom and Ian Butler.
The New Zealand outfit can also call on England all-rounder Dimitri Mascarenhas as well as Nathan McCullum, younger brother of Brendon, who has played Twenty20 international cricket for New Zealand. — Sapa