Before the ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025, South Africa received a hard jolt as its lead pacer Anrich Nortje became injured in his back and was ruled out. This was confirmed on Tuesday by Cricket South Africa (CSA), just a day after Anrich Nortje had been named among the 15 men to represent the nation at the tournament.
The scans on Monday revealed the severity of the injury at 31 years old for Anrich Nortje. The big tournament for South Africa is going to start on February 21 in Karachi, Pakistan. The Proteas will open their campaign against Afghanistan.
The Proteas will most certainly miss Anrich Nortje, as his pace and bounce have played such a pivotal role in the team’s success with white-ball cricket. He has taken 36 wickets in 22 ODIs and 53 in 42 T20Is.
Anrich Nortje is not a new absentee from major ICC events. He had missed the 2023 Cricket World Cup with a stress fracture in his back. More than 15 months have elapsed since his last ODI for South Africa when he was a part of the team playing Australia in Bloemfontein.
Adding to his woes, Anrich Nortje has suffered a broken toe while batting in the nets recently, which means he will not be available for last month’s series against Pakistan and the ongoing SA20 competition, where he was to play for Pretoria Capitals.
CSA has not yet announced his replacement. However, the squad retains the core of the team that reached the 2023 Cricket World Cup semi-finals.
Temba Bavuma will be the skipper for South Africa along with Kagiso Rabada, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Heinrich Klaasen, and several others. Proteas will have to adjust fast now if they want to win the ICC tournament, their first ever.
Source: Cricket South Africa
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