South African batter Aiden Markram is captaining the side in the ongoing World Cup 2023 clash against England at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai on Saturday. Regular skipper Temba Bavuma has been ruled out due to illness. Reeza Hendricks has also been added to South Africa’s playing XI as Bavuma’s replacement.

“Bavuma is ill, so Reeza comes in. Nice opportunity for him. Might be a little bit in it (pitch) during the powerplay. Sort of motivates you a bit. Not focussing too much on it. It’s about reaching those standards set by us. Reeza has been knocking on the door for a while, he comes in. It’s a fantastic opportunity for him,” Markram said at the toss.

Talking about the game, the English skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to bowl first against South Africa at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium on Saturday. The good part for Engkand is their star allrounder Ben Stokes also made a comeback to the playing XI after sustaining a hip injury. Jos Buttler’s team have also included seamers David Willey and Gus Atkinson to bolster their bowling attack.

Both teams are looking to win this game after facing shocking defeats as England was outplayed by Afghanistan by 69 runs, while South Africa was defeated by the Netherlands by 38 runs.

“We are going to bowl first. Generally a good ground for chasing, that’s the reason behind it. It’s not about looking back, need to look forward. Need to be at our best. Stokes comes in, Willey and Atkinson come in for Woakes and Curran. This wicket favours pace, so we are focussing on that. Everyone is eager to get going. Need to be true to ourselves. We need to play our brand of cricket”, Buttler said.

Playing XI’s:

South Africa (Playing XI): Quinton de Kock(w), Reeza Hendricks, Rassie van der Dussen, Aiden Markram(c), Heinrich Klaasen, David Miller, Marco Jansen, Gerald Coetzee, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi.

England (Playing XI): Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Jos Buttler(w/c), David Willey, Adil Rashid, Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood, Reece Topley.