Shukri Conrad sweating over KG Rabada’s fitness for Australia Tests

Rabada was left out of the ODI squad to face the Aussies from September 24, having not fully recovered from a hamstring injury yet.

Conrad admitted that KG is an important player in the team, and says they have been in contact with the physios working with the pace bowler to track his progress.

"Well I don't think Rabada has changed from the last time, he's out of the ODI's and we are constantly monitoring his rehabilitation. I think when we do sit down to select the test squad, I think then we'll know and make an informed decision but he's tracking nicely, gathering all the reports from the physios that he's been working with,” Conrad said. 

“We are really happy with how it's going and it goes without saying he's a massive player. You only need to look at his record, so, fingers crossed it all goes well and he'll be taking the field for us. We'll see how it pans out, given his rehabilitation programme and the medical reports."

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Another fast bowler not considered for the series is Western Province’s Nandre Burger, who has undergone surgery on a recurring lower back injury. 

Conrad says while Burger is not a contracted player, he’ll be keeping an eye on him to potentially compete for a place heading to next year’s World Cup.

"Nandre's injured, uhm I think it was a fracture, I'm not too sure. He's not a contracted player but we obviously still keep tabs with the guys but all the time he's going the consecutive route in terms of the treatment and the surgery, so we're not quite sure how long that's gonna take,” the coach added. 

“But I'm sure he'll obviously work with the guys at Western Province Cobra. So, yeah, we'll see how Nandre tracks and hopefully he gets through that and he might be in contention again as we build towards next year."