Australia quick Mitchell Starc has been ruled out of the fourth Test against the Proteas owing to a “tibial bone stress in his right leg”. With the paceman sidelined, Chadd Sayers earned his Test debut for the Baggy Greens. The seamer will fly to Australia after the fourth Test for further assessment.

Starc’s replacement is the fourth change in the Australian team after Steve Smith, David Warner, and Cameron Bancroft’s exclusion following the ball-tampering controversy. Matthew Renshaw, Joe Burns, and Peter Handscomb are the three players who are featuring in the game at Johannesburg in place of the disgraced trio.

Twenty-one-year-old opener Renshaw will be partnered by Joe Burns in the Aussie batting line-up. Although Glenn Maxwell joined the team too, he hasn't been able to make it to the playing XI against the rainbow nation.

The Proteas’ record is poor at the Wanderers. In their last eight Tests at the Johannesburg ground, they have won three, lost four and drawn one, which includes defeats to Australia in 2009 and 2011, and another loss to India in January this year.

South Africa are leading the 4-match series by 2-1 and have elected to bat first after winning the toss on Friday. Du Plessis’ decision to bat was based on the brownness of the wicket, which is far from the typical green-top Wanderers turf.

Mitchell Starc will also miss the Indian Premier League [IPL] which will commence on April 7. He was roped in by Kolkata Knight Riders for nearly USD 1.47 million in January this year. He is the third Australian to ruled out of IPL this week after Smith and Warner.

KKR are also awaiting the injury-updates of Chris Lynn and Andre Russell. Their spinner, Sunil Narine, will also be under the microscope in the league as his bowling action had been reported in the Pakistan Super League [PSL].