South African pacer Anrich Nortje has resumed bowling. It is a major boost for Delhi Capitals, but questions remain about his availability to play the opening game for the Capitals against Punjab Kings. The ace pacer missed the ODI World Cup owing to a lumbar stress fracture and will be keen for his comeback in IPL 2024.
The injured ruled not only rule Nortje out of ODI World Cup, but also the India series and the SA20. He played in the CSA T20 Challenge match for Warriors against Tuskers.
“He came through well. His pace was up; he’s as quick as I’ve seen him. He looks happy with his body. Now his target is playing back-to-back competitive games,” Warriors coach Robin Peterson told Cricbuzz.
Nortje had a decent spell of 0/12 but he was eased into the game. The Proteas pacer didn’t bowl consecutive overs indicating that he is not 100% fit to handle maximum stress.
“There’s always that element of getting confident in the machine again. But Anrich is incredibly professional. He’s had injuries before, so he’s got some sort of formula on how to recover and what to do. The more I watch him bowl, the more he seems fine. He looks fit and healthy. He looks happy,” Peterson concluded.