Josh Inglis set to rejoin Australia squad for second South Africa Test: report

Australia’s Josh Inglis watches the ball after playing a shot during the fourth day of their third Ashes Test against England at the Adelaide Oval in Adelaide on December 20, 2026. — AFPDURBAN: Wicketkeeper batter Josh Inglis is set to rejoin the Australia squad ahead of the second Test of their ongoing three-match away series against South Africa, Australian media reported on Saturday.

According to a report by a renowned newspaper, The West Australian, the 31-year-old wicketkeeper batter is on his way to South Africa and will link up with the Australia squad ahead of the second Test, scheduled to be played in Gqeberha from October 18.

Notably, Inglis missed the opening Test, underway here until October 13, and the preceding three-match ODI series due to a fractured finger.

He picked up the injury while keeping the wickets during the touring side’s 67-run defeat in the ODI series opener against South Africa and consequently headed back to Australia, where he underwent scans.

Meanwhile, in a major relief for both Inglis and Australia, the wicketkeeper batter managed to avoid surgery as the recent scans showed promising progress, which ultimately led to his departure for South Africa.

In Inglis’ absence from the ongoing Test series opener, Australia were forced to fill two spots, with Sam Harper earning a call-up to provide wicketkeeping and batting cover, while Nic Maddinson received a shock recall after more than nine years.

“It really turned into two players replacing Josh Inglis. If you looked at it like that, it wasn’t [just] another batter coming in. We had sort of flexibility with Josh and then Harper obviously takes the back-up glove role and then you’ve got where we got to with Nic,” said head coach Andrew McDonald.