Anrich Nortje ruled out of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to back injury

In what comes as a devastating blow for South Africa, pacer Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the forthcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to a back injury. Nortje was named in the provisional squad and was expected to make his comeback to the Proteas ODI setup after well over a year, but he has now picked up a fresh injury.

“Pretoria Capitals fast bowler Anrich Nortje has been ruled out of the remainder of the Betway SA20 and the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due a back injury,” a Cricket South Africa release said.

“The 31-year-old, who was initially named in the Champions Trophy squad, underwent scans on Monday afternoon which revealed the extent of the injury. He is not expected to recover in time for the 50-over tournament, where South Africa will begin their campaign on 21 February against Afghanistan in Karachi, Pakistan. His replacement will be announced in due course.”

Concerningly for South Africa and Nortje, it’s the back that’s given up again. A lower-back stress fracture was what ruled the 31-year-old out of the ODI World Cup in 2023 and kept him out of action for close to 10 months. He returned and played the 2024 T20 World Cup, but the Champions Trophy was seen as the tournament for him to start dipping his foot once again into the longer formats of the game. But the latest development comes as a huge setback.

This injury means that Nortje will have gone 18 months without playing an ODI and two years without playing a Test. 

His Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 participation might be in jeopardy too. Nortje was purchased by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) for INR 6.5 cr at the mega auction.