South African middle order batsman Temba Bavuma was on Sunday ruled out of the third and final Test against India at Johannesburg with a fractured finger. Bavuma, who did not make it to the playing XI in the first two Tests, fractured a finger on his right hand during a domestic one-day match on January 17 and will stay out of action for four weeks. With the presence of Theunis de Bruyn in the Test squad, Cricket South Africa chose not to name a replacement for Bavuma for the remaining Johannesburg Test.

Bavuma’s chances of making it to the playing XI were high as regular opener Aiden Markram is battling against time to prove his fitness before 24th. Markram, who suffered a mild quald strain in the second Test at Centurion, will undergo a fitness test on January 23, before South Africa takes a final call.

If Markram does not recover on time, de Bruyn will play as a makeshift opener in the third Test. Bavuma, who had been a regular in the middle order in South African side, lost his place after former AB de Villiers returned to the longest format after a gap of one year. The 27-year-old has scored 1259 runs in his 27 Test matches for South Africa. He is expected to regain fitness before the four-match Test series against Australia.

South Africa squad for third Test: Faf du Plessis (C), Aiden Markram, Dean Elgar, Hashim Amla, AB de Villiers, Theunis de Bruyn, Quinton de Kock, Vernon Philander, Morne Morkel, Keshav Maharaj, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, Duanne Oliver, Chris Morris, Andile Phehlukwayo