Anrich Nortje

With an ability to combine high speed with late swing, Nortje is the ideal successor to his hero Dale Steyn in South Africa's pace attack.

He set the 2018-19 Mzansi Super League ablaze, attacking the stumps at 150kph and taking eight wickets in three matches - including the dismissals of Hashim Amla, Temba Bavuma and Reeza Hendricks - at an average of 10.4. That earned him an ODI debut in March 2019 as well as call-ups to the IPL and the 50-over World Cup, although injury sidelined him from the latter two tournaments. Later that year, he got the chance to make his Test debut in India, and his ability to bend his back on the docile tracks stood out even as South Africa slumped to one Test defeat after another. His first away five-for in Tests also came in the subcontinent, in Rawalpindi in early 2021.

Back home against England in December 2019, Nortje proved himself the find of the summer, challenging England's batters with plenty of short stuff and finishing as the leading wicket-taker with 18 in four Tests even though South Africa lost 3-1. His ability to grind it out as a nightwatch - contributing to a match-winning partnership in Centurion and batting for over three hours in Port Elizabeth - prompted South Africa's bowling coach Charl Langeveldt to nickname him a "proper Dutchman".

In the 2020 IPL, Nortje, playing for Delhi Capitals, clocked 156kph on the speed gun, and although Jos Buttler ramped that delivery for four, Nortje returned to bowl one of the balls of the tournament - a 155kph rocket that moved in off the seam and took out Buttler's middle stump. An improved legcutter added to his T20 variations, helping him take nine wickets at an economy of 5.3 in the 2021 T20 World Cup.

Hip and back injuries shortened his 2022 IPL, but he remained a strike force for South Africa across formats, playing the summer Tests in England and the 2022 T20 World Cup in Australia, where he was the fifth-highest wicket-taker, with 11 dismissals from five games, again at an economy of 5.3, including 4 for 10 against Bangladesh.

He was named the men's cricketer of the year at Cricket South Africa's awards in July 2023 - an honour he had won in 2021 as well - but disappointingly missed the 2023 ODI World Cup in India and the entire summer at home due to a stress fracture to his back.

Nortje was schooled at Brandwag High in the small town of Uitenhage, north of Port Elizabeth and went on to complete a degree in financial planning at Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, where he used varsity cricket to hone his skills. He enjoyed a strong start to his first-class franchise career, with 20 wickets in four matches in the 2016-17 season and a fifth-place finish on the first-class wicket charts in the 2017-18 summer. But the shortest format was where he got his big break.

- Anrich Nortje was bought by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) at the IPL 2019 auction for his base price of INR 20 lakh but a shoulder injury ruled him out that season. He was released by KKR ahead of IPL 2020 and was signed up by Delhi Capitals (DC) as a replacement player for Chris Woakes. Nortje made an immediate impact with his pace, clocking speeds in excess of 155kph on more occasions than one. Nortje finished IPL 2020 with 22 wickets, the fourth-highest that year.

- Nortje didn't play the first half of IPL 2021, which was held in India, but had an excellent second half when the tournament resumed in the UAE, taking 12 wickets in eight games with an economy rate of 6.16.

- Nortje was retained by DC ahead of the IPL 2022 mega auction. An injury restricted him to just six games in 2022 where he picked up nine wickets. He didn't have the best of times in IPL 2023, managing just ten wickets in as many games and leaking runs at 9.10. He played one more season for DC, in 2024, picking up seven wickets in six matches but going at an expensive economy rate of 13.36.

- He did not find much luck either with KKR, playing just two games and picking up one wicket while leaking runs at an economy of 11.85. He was picked up for his base price of INR 2 crore at the IPL 2026 auction by Lucknow Super Giants.