South African pacer Anrich Nortje ruled out of Test series against India
The eagerly anticipated three-match Test series between South Africa and India will begin on the 26th of December in Centurion. The hosts have faced a serious setback ahead of the first match, as their in-form seamer Anrich Nortje has been officially declared out of the entire series.
While there are still a lot going on around the India's tour to South Africa, most notably the COVID scare, South Africa have just confirmed that their fast bowler Anrich Nortje will not be available for the upcoming Test series as the Proteas pacer has suffered an injury.
Cricket South Africa (CSA) announced the development on their official Twitter handle, citing a "persistent injury" as the cause of Nortje's absence from the series.
#Proteas Squad update 🚨
— Cricket South Africa (@OfficialCSA) December 21, 2021
Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the 3-match #BetwayTestSeries due to a persistent injury 🚑
No replacement will be brought in#SAvIND #FreedomSeries #BePartOfIt pic.twitter.com/5R8gnwdcpF
Nortje has become a standout bowler for the Proteas throughout all formats in recent years. He's been scooping up wickets on a continuous basis and would have been vital against India. It's unclear whether he'll be ready for the three-match ODI series that follows.
The 28-year-old South African quick has taken 47 wickets within only just 12 Test matches, including 3 five-wicket hauls. He was mostly outstanding during the T20 World Cup last month, but unfortunately South Africa narrowly missed out on a semi-final spot given the lower net run-rate compare to their opposition.
Nortje has also performed admirably well for the Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League (IPL) over the last two years, thus getting retained by the franchise for 6.5 crore for the IPL 2022.
No Replacement for Anrich Nortje
In the meantime, the CSA has declared that they will not name a replacement player for Anrich Nortje for the coming 3 Test match series.
Kagiso Rabada, Beuran Hendricks, Glenton Stuurman, Duanne Olivier, and Sisanda Magala are the other seam bowlers available in the squad for the African side. Wiaan Mulder and Marco Jansen are two other pace-bowling all-rounders who could also be selected if needed.