Proteas stars AB de Villiers and Chris Morris have delayed their departure to the Indian Premier League (IPL) by a few days to feature for the Titans in the Momentum One Day Cup final against the Warriors in Centurion on Friday.
Titans coach Mark Boucher confirmed the move on Tuesday night during the franchise’s end of season awards where wicketkeeper Heinrich Klaasen was named the Player of the Year at a function that was held at SuperSport Park.
Boucher said Klaasen‚ who was part of the Proteas Test squad for the series against New Zealand‚ will not be considered for selection because he was not part of the run up to the final and batsman opening batsman Henry Davids remains an injury doubt.
“AB (De Villiers) and Chris (Morris) are available for selection in the final‚ Heinrich (Klaasen) is also available but he will not be considered because I don’t want to leave someone out who was part of our run to the final in his absence‚" said the former Proteas wicketkeeper.
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"If someone gets injured in the course of the next few days‚ he will be an option.
"I had a chat with him to say that he has not been with us for a while and the guys who got us to the final deserves an opportunity to play and he understands that.
“With regard to Henry (Davids)‚ we will have to wait and see.
"He will be put through an extensive fitness test and we will see how he responds.
"He has just won the player of the tournament for us and he will play if passed fit because of the form that he is in at the moment. But we will have to see.
"He had a good training session on Tuesday morning where he batted for a long periods of time.
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"He has been sitting in the oxygen chamber for most of his time since he got injured but I am very happy with the attitude he has showed in an attempt to make himself available to play in the final.”
In his last match for the Titans against the Cobras last week‚ De Villiers was dismissed without scoring having faced only two balls.
Boucher said this may prove to be a blessing in disguise as he may want to get it right in the final.
“It’s possibly a blessing in disguise for us that he did not score any runs in our last match because we did not need him and we managed to win without him.
"He must be feeling that I did not contribute to the team and he would want to contribute in the final which is good news for us.”
- TMG Digital/TMG Sport
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