South Africa call up Linde as cover for injured Aiden Markram in Champions Trophy 2025

As Aiden Markram's backup at the Champions Trophy, the left-arm spin bowling all-rounder George Linde will join the South African team as a traveling reserve. Markram was playing against England when he injured his right hamstring, which forced him to miss the rest of the game. On Tuesday evening, he will attend training and take a fitness test to see if he can play in the semi-final against New Zealand. Markram is the latest in a massive list of injured players. Anrich Nortje, Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, Lizaad Williams - all fast bowlers - were ruled out even before the tournament started. Unless Markram is ruled out and the ICC's event technical committee confirms the swap, Linde will not officially join the South African camp on Tuesday evening. It is likely that South Africa added him to the group in the event that they qualify for a Dubai final against India, where conditions are drier and they need an extra spinner. They currently have two specialist spinners in the squad: Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, but only Maharaj has played in Pakistan. India played four spinners in their most recent match against New Zealand in Dubai. In the 2025 SA20, Linde played a key role in MI Cape Town winning their maiden title. In 11 games, Linde scored 161 runs at a strike rate of 153.33 and picked up 11 wickets at an economy of 6.29. More recently, playing for Western Province in the One-Day Challenge Division One, he scored 106 runs and took four wickets in five games. Kwena Maphaka, a left-arm fast bowler, is also a traveling reserve for the team. Meanwhile, Temba Bavuma and Tony de Zorzi have recovered from illness and will train this evening.