Kallis opts out of Champions Trophy, Duminy returns

Cape Town, May 2 (IANS) Jean Paul Duminy returns to the South Africa squad for the ICC Champions Trophy to be held in England and Wales next month while star all-rounder Jacques Kallis has made himself unavailable for the tour.

Duminy makes a comeback after having suffered a severe ankle injury during the first Test match against Australia six months ago.

“JP is well on the way to a full recovery,” commented Cricket South Africa (CSA) selection convener Andrew Hudson.

“The latest information is that he will be fully fit to play his part in all three disciplines by the end of the month. He is a very experienced limited overs cricketer and we don’t anticipate his lack of match practice being any kind of problem.”

For Kallis, Hudson added: “Jacques’ experience will obviously be missed but it does create an opportunity for David Miller whose recent form has been most impressive. It also gives a young player the chance to make his mark ahead of the World Cup in 2015.

“We have stayed consistent with the squad that played in the Momentum ODI series against Pakistan, also bearing in mind that we wanted to choose players who are well equipped for England conditions.”

The squad: AB de Villiers (captain), Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, JP Duminy, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Robbie Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

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