Given his history of frequent injuries, his availability for the tournament remains uncertain.
With the Champions Trophy just two weeks away, South Africa faces growing concerns over their squad. Anrich Nortje has already been ruled out due to injury, and now there are doubts over Lungi Ngidi’s fitness.
Ngidi, who is part of the Champions Trophy squad, missed half of the matches for Paarl Royals in the ongoing SA20 2025. He has just recovered from his groin injuries. Given his history of frequent injuries, his availability for the tournament remains uncertain. If he is ruled out, South Africa will need to find a replacement. Here are five players they could consider as a potential replacement for Lungi Ngidi in the Champions Trophy 2025 squad.
Kwena Maphaka was one of the brightest stars in the U19 World Cup 2024 who quickly made a good impression in international cricket. In December 2024, he made his ODI debut against Pakistan, taking five wickets in two matches. He also had a good start to his Test career.
A young fast bowler with raw pace, Maphaka has the ability to challenge batters, earning him the reputation of being one of South Africa’s rising stars. With early success in ODIs and T20Is, he could be an excellent candidate to replace Lungi Ngidi in the team.
Ottneil Baartman has experience from playing in an ICC event. He was in the T20 World Cup 2024 team, where he took six wickets in five matches with an economy of 4.94. He is a good pace bowler who can be effective at all phases of the game.
Baartman has taken six wickets in ODIs with an average of 16.83 and has also claimed 17 wickets in 12 T20Is. In the SA20 2025 which is currently ongoing, he did decently enough, taking eight wickets from eight matches. His last appearance in ODI was against Pakistan in December 2024 in which he picked two wickets. He is also one of the potential replacements for Lungi Ngidi in the team.
Gerald Coetzee has already made a name for himself as a promising fast bowler in international cricket. He has played 14 ODIs and taken 31 wickets, impressing during the 2023 World Cup, where he was South Africa’s leading wicket-taker with 20 wickets in eight matches.
However, he suffered injury setbacks last year during the Test series against Sri Lanka and again in the SA20 at a time when he was getting in contention for a replacement slot for Nortje. He had initially been omitted from the Champions Trophy squad, however, with time to his side, he should be fit in time for the tournament. With Nortje ruled out of the tournament, South Africa might bring in Coetzee as his replacement and then consider a replacement for Ngidi if he is unable to play.
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George Linde might be another option who could replace Lungi Ngidi. Linde is a spinner and would bring an additional spin option to the team. The last time he played an ODI was in 2021, but recently, he has been part of the South Africa T20I series against Pakistan, where he took 5 wickets in 2 games.
Although his international career has been short, he has plenty of experience in domestic cricket and could be a valuable option for South Africa, as he can also contribute with the bat lower down the order.
Another possible replacement for Lungi Ngidi is Corbin Bosch. He played his first ODI against Pakistan and took 1 wicket, while he also made his Test debut against them, taking 5 wickets in two innings.
He has a good amount of experience in domestic cricket. Bosch has good pace and can be effective in the middle overs. He has been in great form in the current SA20 season for MI Cape Town, with an impressive 8 wickets in 6 games.
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