CAPITALS LOSE MAHMOOD TO INJURY BUT PICK UP EXPLOSIVE COX

The Pretoria Capitals have suffered an injury blow ahead of Betway SA20 Season 4 after fast bowler Saqib Mahmood was ruled out due to knee injury.

The England pace bowler Saqib Mahmood, who last played in September (against the Proteas), underwent minor surgery.

The 28-year-old will be replaced by fellow Englishman Jordan Cox. The 25-year-old is an aggressive white-ball batter that has been a part of Betway SA20 before where he played seven matches for the Sunrisers Eastern Cape during in Season 1. He formed part of the victorious Sunrisers maiden title-winning squad, where they ironically beat the Pretoria Capitals in the final at the Wanderers in 2023.

Cox has been in excellent form, particularly in The Hundred in England, where he topped the tournament’s run-scoring charts with 367 runs in nine innings at an average of 61.16 and a strike rate of 174.

It propelled the Oval Invincibles to the championship title and was named Player of the Tournament for his explosive batting.

He will undoubtedly be looking forward to striding out to the middle at the batting-friendly Centurion.

The Capitals remain well stocked in the pace department with Proteas trio Lungi Ngidi, Lizaad Williams and Codi Yusuf alongside speed merchant Gideon Peters and England international Craig Overton.

Sourav Ganguly’s team kickoff their Betway SA20 Season 4 campaign in the Jukskei Derby against Joburg Super Kings on December 27 at Centurion.