Johannesburg [South Africa], June 26 : South African pacer Anrich Nortje will be out of action indefinitely due to a "stress reaction", with head coach Shukri Conrad expressing worry about Nortje's latest setback and assured that the 31-year-old will be given every chance to make a comeback.
Nortje was not considered for the T20I squad featuring in the tri-nation series in Zimbabwe next month, featuring New Zealand. The pacer did not travel to the US for Major League Cricket (MLC) this year, as he was with the Los Angeles Knight Riders (LAKR) for his stint. Nortje's total of two games this year have come in the Indian Premier League (IPL) for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), as per ESPNCricinfo.
Conrad confirmed that the injury will be assessed, and Cricket South Africa (CSA) is unaware of how long he will be out of action. Nortje has endured plenty of setbacks as of late, such as not being contracted by CSA this year. He last played international cricket during the 2024 T20 World Cup.
A toe injury kept him away from the ICC Champions Trophy, and he could not be a part of the ICC World Test Championship-winning Proteas squad as well.
This is not the first time he has spent so much time away from the game, with no action from November 2013 to November 2015, November 2018 to February 2019, and November 2021 to April 2022 due to back and hip injuries.
It is also unclear which formats he will feature in on his return.
"We will have to see the length of the time that he will be out and the extent of the injury. I really feel for him," Conrad said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
"He is a superstar fast bowler and having to deal with setback after setback cannot be easy. We will wait to see how serious it is."
"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," he concluded.
Rassie van der Dussen, a veteran of 50 T20 Internationals, has been named captain of South Africa's squad for their upcoming T20I series, which includes four uncapped players, according to the official website of the ICC.
Corbin Bosch, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Rubin Hermann and Senuran Muthusamy have all received maiden call-ups after strong domestic performances.
Pretorius was the standout performer in the 2025 edition of the SA20, finishing as the leading run-scorer with 397 runs at a strike rate of 166. Wicket-keeper-batter Rubin Hermann was also impressive, scoring 333 runs at an average of 41.43.
The squad will assemble in Pretoria on July 9 for a two-day preparatory camp before departing for Harare on 11 July. The tri-series begins with South Africa facing the hosts, Zimbabwe, on July 14.
South Africa squad: Rassie van der Dussen (C), Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Reeza Hendricks, Rubin Hermann, George Linde, Kwena Maphaka, Senuran Muthusamy, Lungi Ngidi, Nqaba Peter, Lhuan-dre Pretorius, Andile Simelane.
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