Anrich Nortje ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
Anrich Nortje bound for 2020 IPL with the Delhi Capitals
Proteas fast bowler Anrich Nortje joins teammate Kagiso Rabada in the Capitals squad and should be heading to the UAE shortly.
Anrich Nortje ©Samuel Shivambu/BackpagePix
Proteas fast bowler Anrich Nortje looks set to finally make his IPL debut after signing up for the 2020 tournament with the Delhi Capitals.
Nortje, who was bought by the Kolkata Knight Riders at the IPL auction for the 2019 campaign but missed out through injury, has been signed as a replacement for England allrounder Chris Woakes.
IPL dreams come true
He joins teammate Kagiso Rabada in the Capitals squad and should be heading to the UAE shortly.
The seamer was catapulted to prominence with an excellent campaign in the inaugural Mzansi Super League and has since gone on to represent South Africa in all three international formats.
The quick is eager to learn from his experience in the richesr T20 League on the planet.
“I am excited to join the Delhi Capitals, a team that was the talk of the tournament last season. With its exciting mix of experienced and young players, and a stellar coaching line up, there is no doubt this is going to be a massive learning experience for me,” the right-arm seamer was quoted as saying in Capital’s press release.
“I am grateful to the Delhi Capitals management for giving me this opportunity.”
Nortje thrilled to join Capitals
Nortje has shown himself to be an adept new-ball bowler in T20 cricket and earned himself Cricket South Africa’s Newcomer of the Year award for 2020.
Woakes has pulled out of the IPL to keep himself fit for the English international summer which will overlap with tournament in the UAE.
Capitals fans have been eagerly awaiting the announcement of a replacement for Woakes but the franchise put the decision off until the dates for the rescheduled IPL were confirmed.
A very different tournament
The IPL gets underway on 19 September in the UAE and will run until the final slated for 10 November. It will be the second IPL staged in the UAE and the third to be played outside of India.
Franchises are expected to confirm their playing squads in the coming weeks, with training camps beginning in the Emirates from late August.
The IPL was forced to drop Vivo as their title sponsor over political tensions but have intimated a replacement will be announced in due course.
For the first-time ever the IPL will be played behind closed doors at biosecure venues. The UAE was chosen as hosts due to the high concentration of hotels close to playing facilities and experience staging events during the pandemic.
