The South African bowling attack looks as peppy as ever with the triumvirate of Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi and Anrich Nortje. Tall, pacy and at the sticks always, not to forget at a pace that can be unsettling, Nortje is a pacer that can be labelled as a tearaway. Consistently clocking over 150 kph, Nortje upped his rep quickly as a fearsome fast bowler. His penchant to bowl the yorkers makes him a quintessential cricketer for the white ball formats.

Nortje had earlier travelled to India with South Africa A and also pocketed 24 wickets in the 4-day Franchise series in the 2018-2019 season to grab all the attention. Unfortunately, the tearaway quick had to miss the 2018 MSL T20 mid-way after he sustained an ankle injury. Consistent performances at the domestic level, however, led to his ODI debut against Sri Lanka in early 2019. His bad luck continued though as despite securing a lucrative IPL contract before even making his international debut, a maiden IPL appearance with the Knight Riders from Kolkata fell flat with a shoulder injury which also robbed him of a spot in South Africa’s squad for the 2019 Cricket World Cup.

Post his recovery, a Test debut against India awaited in late 2019 and his maiden five-wicket haul came in a Test against England in 2020. Nortje also made his IPL debut for the Delhi Capitals in 2020 and had a fantastic season after picking up 22 wickets from just 16 outings. Joining forces with fellow South African pacer Kagiso Rabada, the duo were instrumental in the Capitals’ run that ended in defeat to the Mumbai Indians at the final that year.

Nortje was a part of South Africa’s squad in the back-to-back T20 World Cups of 2021 and 2022.

Written by Kumar Abhisekh Das