Batsman Temba Bavuma has been ruled out of the Proteas’ third and final T20I against Australia at Newlands in Cape Town on Wednesday.

Bavuma has been sidelined since sustaining a hamstring injury during the ODI series against England earlier this month.

He missed the first and second T20Is against the Aussies and underwent a fitness test this week. The right-handed batsman, however, was not deemed fit enough to participate at Newlands.

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Middle-order batsman Heinrich Klaasen has been passed fit after recovering from a hip injury.

The recalled Reeza Hendricks will likely open the batting alongside captain Quinton de Kock in Bavuma’s absence. Klaasen will probably be named in the XI ahead of all-rounder Jon-Jon Smuts.

The three-match series is locked at 1-1. The Autralians won the first T20I at the Wanderers in Johannesburg by 107 runs. The hosts won the second at St George’s Park in Port Elizabeth by a dozen runs.

Both teams are preparing for the T20 World Cup in Australia later this year. South Africa have been pooled with India, England, Afghanistan and two qualifying teams for the tournament. India won the inaugural T20 World Cup (named World Twenty20 at the time) in 2007 in South Africa.

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