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Follow UsTwo years ago, ahead of the IPL mega auction in 2022, Delhi Capitals retained Anrich Nortje over Kagiso Rabada, opting to let go the more experienced and established of the two South African speedsters.
The move, which was a slightly contentious one on paper, was a no-brainer at that point in time and spoke volumes about Nortje's growth, rise, and stature.
Signed as an injury replacement for Chris Woakes ahead of IPL 2020, Nortje walked in and took the competition by storm.
Across IPL 2020 & IPL 2021, only Rabada (45) took more wickets for the Capitals than Nortje (34). Yet Nortje’s average, economy, and impact blew Rabada’s out of the water.
The South African tearaway carried DC across phases, particularly at the death, and was instrumental in the side reaching the final in 2020 and then topping the table in 2021.
The Capitals would have been mad to let him go; rightly, they didn’t.
With a fully developed X-factor bowler in his prime at their disposal, DC seemed to look sorted on the overseas pace front, heading into the 2022-24 IPL cycle.
However, as we approach the final year of the ongoing cycle, Nortje’s retention has gone anything but according to plan for the Capitals.
19 matches out of a possible 42 played. 23 wickets taken in the said games at an economy rate of 9.8.
Not only have DC barely had the services of Nortje in this cycle, the express quick has looked like a shadow of his avatar four years ago, which sent shivers down the spine of batters.
There is drop in form, and then there is an individual’s form falling off a cliff. With Nortje, it’s been the latter.
Since the start of 2022, 35 bowlers have sent down 60 or more overs in the IPL. Among them, Nortje’s economy of 9.8 is the second-worst, only behind Shardul Thakur.
There’s an even more damning stat that highlights just how consistently poor he’s been: since the start of IPL 2022, Nortje has completed his quota of 4 overs 18 times.
In these games, he's registered an economy rate of 8.8 or above a whopping 14 times, which is in 77% of the games.
For the best part of three seasons, Nortje has been a non-factor when he's turned up for Delhi. And that’s had a huge impact on the showing of the Capitals, who, in the lead-up to IPL 2022, anointed the 30-year-old as the side’s spearhead with the ball.
What’s gone wrong for Nortje?
Throughout the ongoing cycle in the IPL, Nortje has been unable to hit the heights he did in his first two seasons. And that’s largely been down to his rotten luck with injuries.
In the aftermath of the T20 World Cup in UAE in 2021, Nortje suffered a serious hip injury that kept him out of action for the best part of six months.
He returned to action in the first half of IPL 2022 in April but suffered a setback that ruled him out of action for another month. In the end, he only ended up playing six games in IPL 2022.
Nortje played more than 70% of the season in IPL 2023 but had a season to forget (10 wickets at E.R 9.10), which was in sync with Delhi’s campaign that saw them finish second-to-bottom.
The 30-year-old has again entered this season undercooked due to injury, having played just three T20s since IPL 2023, all in the CSA T20 Challenge. On this occasion, it’s a back stress fracture that Nortje is coming back from — the same injury that ruled him out of the 50-over World Cup last year.
The lack of match practice has shown big time.
Three games into the season, Nortje has found no rhythm. He’s picked four wickets but has been carted around for 12.50 runs per over. Against Kolkata Knight Riders, the clash in which DC conceded 272, he proved to be the Capitals’ second-most expensive bowler, leaking 59 off his quota of four overs.
In an ideal world, no franchise would want to rely on a semi-fit fast bowler, but injuries to Lungi Ngidi (ruled out) and Jhye Richardson, the other overseas options in the squad, have forced DC to gamble on Nortje. Thus far, the gamble has backfired.
Does Nortje have an India problem?
During this injury-stricken period, Nortje’s form has dropped across phases. Since IPL 2022, his economy has increased by at least 1.5 RPO in every single phase.
But here’s the million-dollar question: is this free fall merely due to injuries, or is Nortje simply ineffective in Indian conditions?
Interestingly enough, the first 24 matches of Nortje’s IPL career came in UAE, thanks to the speedster missing the first half of the 2021 season, which was played in India. He tore the house down in UAE with his raw pace and hard lengths, averaging 20.6 while registering an economy of 7.7.
It’s been a monumental struggle for Nortje in the IPL since 2022, and it’s probably not a mere coincidence that, in the last couple of years, the IPL has entirely been played in India.
Someone who bowls a ‘heavy ball’, hitting the deck hard and hammering the ball into that back of a length area worked like a charm for Nortje in UAE. 20 of his 34 wickets in the UAE were from either length or back of a length, and batters found it extremely difficult to put him away.
These same lengths, however, have not worked in India. Especially from the point of view of curtailing the batters, with opponents finding it much easier to dispatch him. Perhaps due to lack of pace and extra bounce on most surfaces.
When it comes to India, it’s not just in the IPL that Nortje has found it difficult to bowl. He’s played eight T20Is in the country representing South Africa and has a pretty forgettable record, averaging 43.20 while leaking runs at an E.R of 9.81. It’s by some distance his worst record in any country.
Considering the massive sample size, Nortje’s struggles in India can’t just be a coincidence. At this point, it does look like he has an India problem.
Hindsight is 20/20, but even with the benefit of hindsight, it’s hard to argue against the fact that, two years ago, DC made the right decision to retain Nortje. It’s a shame for the Capitals that the South African hasn’t been able to deliver for them this cycle, but that’s sport. Some decisions tend to work; some don’t.
DC’s investment has not given them long-term gains, but it could still end up giving them some short-term benefits.
For that, though, Nortje will have to drastically turn his season, and his record in India, around.
Could the tearaway finish his DC career the same way he started it and part ways on a high?
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