NEWS
Follow UsAfter a breakthrough season in 2020, Anrich Nortje has not yet featured for the Delhi Capitals in this edition of the tournament. The franchise, early on in the season trusted the skillset of Chris Woakes, who bowled excellently in the powerplay for the Capitals. However, with Woakes set to miss the tournament, it might very well see the return of Nortje in the setup.
Last season in similar conditions, the South African pacer picked up 22 wickets in the competition, averaging 23.27, at an economy rate of 8.39. With the T20 World Cup also set to be played in the Middle East, Nortje admits that it is a massive advantage to get used to the conditions.
"It's definitely a massive advantage to play the IPL before the T20 World Cup. We have a chance to acclimatize to the conditions and get first-hand experience of the kind of wickets here in the UAE. The sooner we get the information about the kind of wickets here, the better it will be for all of us,” Nortje said.
Nortje also added that the Capitals will have to assess the conditions first in the Middle East before they begin the tournament, having finished the first half of the tournament on a high.
“I think each team is looking to assess everything as much as possible, but, firstly we have to assess the conditions for the IPL as it certainly is a big tournament in itself and then we will get to the T20 World Cup," said the fast bowler.
"It was here where things started to happen for me in the IPL, but I am looking to take it match by match this season. There's a lot coming up, even after the IPL. We have to try and remember what we did here the last time we were here and try and implement that again. Hopefully, we can repeat what we did in the UAE the last time we were here," said the 27-year-old.