Lungi Ngidi certainly wasn’t one to wallow in self-pity as he sat on the sidelines with injury, as he watched a number of other Proteas bowlers’ stocks rise.
Having battled injury for the last couple seasons, Ngidi did not manage to make the Proteas squad for the T20 World Cup in the USA and West Indies in June. He did, however, travel with the squad as a reserve but did not feature in the Proteas side that made it all the way to the final before losing to India.
The 28-year-old is in the peak of his career in terms of age, but dealing with the injuries that have plagued his Proteas run would have been frustrating for anyone.
Gerald Coetzee, Nandre Burger, Ottneil Baartman and Kwena Maphaka have all worked their way up the Proteas pecking list while Ngidi sat out.
The @ProteasMenCSA win the toss and elect to bat 🏏![CDATA[]]>🇿![CDATA[]]>🇦
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) September 18, 2024
Play begins in Sharjah at 14:00 (CAT) 💥
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‘Take it in your stride’
"I've been playing for a while now. To be honest it's about taking it one day at a time. Injuries happen, it probably won't be my last one as well, so you take it in your stride,” Ngidi told SportsBoom.
“It is unfortunate sometimes with the timing, but I got injured, someone else was given an opportunity, we were able to see what South African cricket has to produce. It's not all about me.”
Ngidi was speaking ahead of the first One-Day International (ODI) against Afghanistan in Sharjah on Wednesday.
With Kagiso Rabada and Marco Jansen both rested for the series, Ngidi will be tasked with leading the Proteas attack. While it’s not something Ngidi hasn’t done before and he will back himself with the challenge, it will be the first ODI the burly quick has played for South Africa since November 2023.
In fact, it will be the first match Ngidi will play since early August when he bowled 17 overs across two innings in the drawn first Test against the West Indies in the Port of Spain.