Rob Walter, South Africa's white-ball coach, is not too discouraged by Anrich Nortje's statistics since his comeback from a six-month hiatus due to a stress fracture. Nortje is not "very far away" from returning to his best.
In addition to refusing to sign a central contract for this year, Nortje skipped the entire South African home summer and the ODI World Cup by not playing a match between September 2023 and March 2024. He has participated in 11 T20 matches since going back into action, including the CSA T20, the IPL, and, most recently, a series against the West Indies. In 40 overs, he took nine wickets for 449 runs. Despite his two T20Is at a pace of over 12 runs per over and an overall economy rate of 11.22, Walter is still optimistic about his abilities in front of the T20 World Cup.
"They've been tough conditions for a fast bowler and [Nortje was] coming up against a side who were pretty brutal if you were off the mark. He probably experienced the same thing having come off a break into his first four games at the IPL. So he probably landed himself in a perfect storm, which in many ways can harden you and get you even more ready," Walter told a press conference on Tuesday. "I still don't believe he's very far away. A world-class performer finds a way and I don't doubt that he will as well."
Lungi Ngidi, who missed the IPL due to a lower back ailment but returned for the CSA T20 Challenge, where he claimed eight wickets at an average of 19.37 and gave up runs at an over of 8.30, was benched in favour of Nortje in South Africa's T20 World Cup squad.