Nortje, who was rehabilitating from a broken toe, has incurred a back injury and has been ruled out of the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and the UAE. A CSA release cited that Nortje “is not expected to recover in time for the 50-over tournament.”
The speedster is yet to play an international game after the T20 World Cup where South Africa ended up as the runners-up. He was with the Capitals squad for the SA20 and was expected to feature sometime soon.
Although CSA are yet to name his replacement, Gerald Coetzee is the likely name that’s making rounds in Cricket South Africa’s social media. The right-arm pacer returned to action for the Joburg Super Kings in the ensuing SA20 after suffering a groin injury during the Test series against Sri Lanka.
Previously, white-ball coach Rob Walter explained his initial selection of Nortje as a straight shootout with Coetzee. With the former being unavailable now, Coetzee should be the man to be roped in for the eight-team event.
This is the third time in six ICC events that Nortje has injured himself in the lead-up to the preparations. Coincidentally, all of them are ODI events — 2019 World Cup, the 2023 World Cup, and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
South Africa are stacked in a group of death with Australia, Afghanistan, and England as the other members in Group B of the ICC Champions Trophy. Their first match is against Afghanistan on February 21.
