South African pacer Lungi Ngidi has been ruled out of the entire Test summer at home with a groin injury as he will miss the series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. Captain Temba Bavuma will have to undergo a fitness test on Monday to take a final call on his availability.

Ngidi will play in January and is likely to feature in his third SA20 campaign.

PLAYER UPDATE ????

Proteas Men’s fast bowler Lungi Ngidi has been ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka as well as the all-format tour against Pakistan due to a groin injury.

The 28-year-old recently underwent a medical assessment as part of his structured… pic.twitter.com/aZVL64aX9X

— Proteas Men (@ProteasMenCSA) November 14, 2024

On the other hand, Bavuma is in a race to start the two-match series against Sri Lanka starting on November 27 in Durban. He is coming back from an elbow injury that kept him out of action against Bangladesh last month.

Read also: ICC in talks with boards over non-payment of T20 World Cup dues to players

Lungi Ngidi ruled out of SA series against SL & Pakistan this summer due to groin injury #SAvSL pic.twitter.com/DUbjsuUOJ5

— ThePoppingCrease (@PoppingCreaseSA) November 14, 2024

His loss would be felt more keenly than Ngidi, with South Africa having depth in the seam department but fragile at times with their top six batting.

South Africa are in with a chance of reaching the finals of the 2025 World Test Championship, but would likely need to win both the Tests against Sri Lanka and the two-match home series with Pakistan, which includes the Boxing Day and New Year matches.