The experienced striker has been in good form for Cape Town City having scored three goals in his last three Premier Soccer League (PSL) matches.
“Based on the fact that Kermit has not played a lot until about the last four to five weeks, I think it’s probably the reason for us to back off slightly,” Baxter was quoted as saying by Daily Sun.
The British tactician opted for in-form striker Lars Veldwijk, who has netted 17 goals in 28 Eerste Divisie matches for his club, Sparta Rotterdam this season.
Baxter praised City coach Benni McCarthy, who has been able to revive Erasmus' career following his return from Europe.
“I think Benni (McCarthy) has done a fantastic job with him and one of the reasons behind that is that Kermit plays best when he is loved and appreciated," he continued.
Furthermore, Baxter suggested that the former Orlando Pirates and SuperSport United forward would not have dealt well if he was called up to the national team as a squad player.
“I think Kermit has problems when he is on the periphery because he thinks he is a good player, which he is but maybe doesn’t deal with it too well if he is a squad player," he explained.
“Now he is feeling like he is the man in Cape Town and I did not feel like I could give him that in the national team, so based on that I don’t think we would have gotten the best out of him," he concluded.
South Africa's crucial 2019 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) qualifier against Libya is scheduled to be played at the Stade Taieb Mhiri in Sfax, Tunisia on the 24th of March.
Bafana need to avoid a defeat against Libya in order to qualify for the Afcon finals which will be hosted by Egypt in June.
