Anrich Nortje had barely signed off from his pre-match chat in Lucknow – venue for South Africa’s fourth T20I against India – when a teammate nudged him: the IPL auction, still rolling along in Dubai, had just handed him a new franchise. A quick message confirmed it. Lucknow Super Giants had bought the fast bowler for his base price of INR 2 crore (about US$220,000).
“This is news to me,” Nortje smiled, suddenly aware the Ekana Stadium might become a second home. “I’ll see you guys soon then. I’m very happy.”
It’s a nice change of fortune after what can only be described as a stop-start 12 months. Since October 2024 he has played just 13 matches, international and domestic combined. A back problem kept him out for seven straight months – no SA20, no Champions Trophy – and two outings for Kolkata Knight Riders last IPL were followed by another stress reaction that wiped out most of the winter. Only in November, turning out for the Dolphins, did he finally string overs together and earn a recall. Wickets have proved elusive so far but, crucially, the pace is back: he hit the high-140s and low-150s (kph) in Cuttack before being rested, then returned at Dharamsala with a tighter spell of 0-14 from three overs, the lone boundary a thick edge from Shubman Gill.
“It’s nice to be back, I really missed it and really enjoying my time here,” he said. “I’m sort of happy with the progress. There’s still a lot of cricket to play. For me, it’s just to try and focus game by game, day by day, and just try and get better every day but I’ve really been enjoying the time back and it’s been great to be with the team.”
The current series is Nortje’s first under Shukri Conrad, South Africa’s all-format head coach. Conrad had wanted the quick in last season’s Tests when Gerald Coetzee hurt his groin, but Nortje, uncontracted by choice, was nursing another niggle. Now, with his body finally co-operating, he likes what he sees.
“With a new coach and how he’s been going about things, it seems to be going really well,” Nortje said. “I’m happy to be here. The team’s been doing unbelievably well the last year or two. There’s some fresh faces, there’s some old faces and guys have been sort of on the fringes for a while, are getting to play more cricket more consistently. Coming in and seeing how basic they keep things, trying to be as basic as possible, let the moment play out, assess on the park what to do. Guys are jamming really well, getting along very well, and everyone knows their role in the team. And I think that’s very important.”
Medical staff report no lingering discomfort; the bowler himself says the run-up finally feels natural again. Analysts inside the South Africa camp note his release height is back above 2.1 metres – a small but telling indicator of rhythm. There is still the question of workload: Nortje has not bowled four full-throttle spells in one week since early 2024. Lucknow, who lost Mark Wood to injury last season, will monitor that carefully. A two-crore deal is hardly extravagant, yet LSG think they have found value: a genuine 150 kph option who can attack the powerplay and, on good days, finish at the death too.
For South Africa, the immediate focus is the final two T20Is against India before attention turns to a short ODI leg. Nortje is pencilled in for at least one of them; management want him feeling overs in his legs without overloading. Long-term, the dream remains Test cricket – he hasn’t played one since March 2023 – but nobody is rushing it. “Game by game, day by day,” as he keeps telling himself.
Setbacks have littered his calendar, yet Nortje looks and sounds refreshed, and a touch of serendipity – the right franchise in the same city where he is currently trying to find his best form – can’t hurt. Realistically, the pace will fluctuate, so will the results, but for now a fit Nortje is back in South African colours and, come April, in Super Giants blue. That alone feels like progress.
