India is playing South Africa in their opening encounter of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019 on Wednesday at the Rose Bowl in Southampton. Ahead of the clash, South Africa were dealt a major blow after pace ace Dale Steyn was ruled out of the tournament after failing to heal from a shoulder injury.

The senior pacer, who was expected to lead the Proteas pace attack and play an integral role in his team's success in the showpiece event, was ruled out of the entire tournament. Steyn had aggravated his injury while playing for the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2019.

South Africa have got their World Cup campaign to the worst possible start after losing their first two games on the trot to Bangladesh and hosts England. The Proteas were thrashed by 104 runs by England in the tournament opener before being handed a 21-run defeat by Bangladesh in their second encounter.

Their pace bowling - which was being touted as the team's major strength ahead of the showpiece event, was reduced to tatters. After Anrich Nortje was ruled out before the start of the World Cup, Steyn too failed to attain full fitness after not featuring in the first two games. Meanwhile, Lungi Ngidi has also been ruled out for a week after picking up a hamstring injury.