The 31-year-old South Africa National Cricket Team right-arm pacer Anrich Nortje has suffered yet another injury blow and he has been ruled out of cricket.
Anrich Nortje will be missing the upcoming T20I tri-series against the New Zealand National Cricket Team and the Zimbabwe National Cricket Team, which will be played from July 14 to 26 in Harare.
Anrich Nortje’s injury history
Nortje entered the scene by impressing everyone with his ability to combine high speed with late swing and was looked at as the ideal successor to Dale Steyn.
He quickly became a strike force for South Africa across all three formats of the game and established himself as one of the most dangerous bowlers in world cricket.
However, the constant injuries have brought a downfall in his career. The right-arm quick has suffered hip, back, toe, thumb, and other injuries throughout his career and has been forced to miss a lot of matches.
Before being announced unavailable for the upcoming tri-series in Zimbabwe, Anrich Nortje was ruled out of the ongoing season of the Major League Cricket (MLC).
He also missed the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the SA20 earlier in the year due to a back injury and was not picked for the ICC World Test Championship Final against Australia.
The pacer played only two matches in the Indian Premier League 2025 for Kolkata Knight Riders due to fitness issues, and he had earlier missed the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023 due to a stress fracture of the lower back and the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 due to a thumb fracture.
I really feel for him – Shukri Conrad on Anrich Nortje
Speaking after announcing the squad for the tri-series in Zimbabwe, South Africa National Cricket Team head coach Shukri Conrad revealed that Anrich Nortje has suffered a stress-related injury to the back and will be out of action for an unknown period of time.
“We will have to see the length of the time that he will be out,” the all-format South Africa head coach Conrad said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
“And the extent of the injury. I really feel for him. He is a superstar fast bowler, and having to deal with setback after setback can’t be easy. We will wait to see how serious it is.”
He added that Anrich Nortje, who has played 19 Tests, 22 ODIs, and 42 T20Is, will be provided with good backing from the team management as he aims to stage a comeback from a disappointing injury. The head coach said:
“Naturally we are worried. In Anrich’s case this is the second or third stress reaction in his back. It is too early to make a diagnosis and we are definitely not drawing a line through this name. He is 31 years old and we are going to give him every chance to come back. We will have to see what the medical team think is the best way forward.”
This T20I tri-series marks the start of our preparation for next year’s T20 World Cup – Shuki Conrad
While talking about the tri-series, Shuki Conrad said that they are looking at it as a preparation for next year’s T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. He elaborated:
“This T20I tri-series marks the start of our preparation for next year’s T20 World Cup. With several senior players rested as part of their workload management, it creates space for these players to step in and show what they can offer, and bring them into contention for World Cup selection.
“Lhuan-dre and Rubin have been rewarded for their outstanding domestic form in the SA20 and we’re excited to see how they adapt to the demands of international cricket.”