Amid a lackluster first half of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) star overseas pacer Anrich Nortje has left the camp due to an injury. LSG bowling coach, Bharat Arun confirmed Nortje’s absence when he was asked about how his approach changes while managing an overseas pacer compared to an Indian pacer.
“Our bowling attack is predominantly Indian. In fact, apart from Anrich Nortje, who was injured and has gone back, we haven’t really had an overseas presence in the bowling group. But this is a very exciting Indian bowling unit, and we have a lot of belief in them,” Arun told TOI.
ALSO READ: Ex-RCB coach doesn't want SRH to take Ishan Kishan's captaincy away and hand it to Pat Cummins
South Africa pacer Nortje played just one game for LSG in the season. Against Delhi Capitals (DC), he remained wicketless and conceded 39 runs in a low-scoring affair.
ALSO READ: Delhi Capitals break silence on part-timer Nitish Rana bowling 4 overs vs Sunrisers Hyderabad
The 32-year-old was roped in for his base price of Rs 2 crore. It is not clear whether Nortje has been ruled out of the remainder of the IPL 2026 or not.
Nortje is the second LSG overseas player to get injured. Earlier, Sri Lanka’s Wanindu Hasaranga was ruled out of IPL 2026 due to injury. He was replaced by South Africa’s George Linde.
LSG’s pace attack still potent
Despite Nortje’s departure, LSG don’t have a dearth of fast-bowling talent. Currently, Mohammed Shami is leading the pace attack. They have Mohsin Khan, Prince Yadav, Avesh Khan, Mayank Yadav in their ranks. Fast-bowling sensation Mayank is yet to get a game. Also, they are yet to include Arjun Tendulkar, Akash Singh, Naman Tiwari or Arshin Kulkarni in the side.
So far, LSG’s bowling attack has not fired in unison. In the last three games, they have struggled to contain the batters. In the previous encounter, Punjab Kings (PBKS) put 254/7 on the board. Priyansh Arya and Cooper Connolly dismantled the pace attack.
The only positive has been Prince who is their only contender for the purple cap ahead of Rajasthan Royals (RR) clash on April 22. The 24-year-old has taken 11 wickets from six games at an average of 17.18. In the game against PBKS, he conceded just 25 runs from his quota of four overs.