By BBC (Sports) | Created at 2025-01-15 16:09:09 | Updated at 2025-01-15 18:35:57
2 hours ago
South Africa fast bowler Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the ICC Champions Trophy with a back injury.
The 31-year-old was initially named in the Proteas' 15-man squad for the 50-over tournament in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates.
However, a scan on Monday revealed the extent of the injury and a Cricket South Africa statement confirmed Nortje is not expected to recover in time to feature in the eight-team competition.
Nortje, who played most recently in the Abu Dhabi T10 in December, will also miss the remainder of the SA20 franchise tournament, where he was due to play for the Pretoria Capitals.
South Africa begin their Champions Trophy campaign against Afghanistan in Karachi on 21 February and will name a replacement for Nortje.
It is another injury setback for Nortje after he missed the Proteas' white-ball series against Pakistan because of a broken toe, having chosen to sit out the home Test series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan either side of Christmas.
The seamer has taken 159 wickets for South Africa across three formats and was a key part of the side that reached the T20 World Cup final in June 2024.
But he has not played for his country since that defeat by India in Bridgetown.
