South Africa T20I Squad Named: Van der Dussen Returns, Nortje Out Injured for Zimbabwe Tri-Series

South Africa has named its squad for the upcoming T20I tri-series in Zimbabwe, featuring Rassie van der Dussen, Nandre Burger, and Gerald Coetzee. Lhuan-dre Pretorius also receives a call-up, alongside Corbin Bosch, Rubin Hermann, and Senuran Muthusamy. However, Anrich Nortje is notably absent due to injury concerns.

Anrich Nortje sidelined with a stress-related back problem © Getty

Van der Dussen returns to the South African setup for the first time since March, while Burger last played in August and Coetzee in November. Pretorius, Bosch, Hermann, and Muthusamy are all in line to make their T20I debuts.

The tri-series, which includes New Zealand, is set to be played in Zimbabwe next month.

Head coach Shukri Conrad expressed his anticipation for the series. "I look forward to catching up with Rob," Conrad stated, referring to New Zealand's coach Rob Walter. "He's got valuable insights into our squad, which makes the tri-series all the more spicy."

Van der Dussen will captain the team in the absence of Aiden Markram, who is being rested along with several other key players including Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj, David Miller, Ryan Rickelton, Kagiso Rabada, and Tristan Stubbs.

Conrad emphasized the importance of having South Africa's best players available whenever possible, acknowledging the challenges posed by the prevalence of leagues in modern cricket. The decision to rest several senior players reflects a need to manage their workload.

"The all-format players had Test series against Sri Lanka and Pakistan at home [in November and December]," Conrad explained. "Then they had the SA20 [in January and February], then they went straight into an IPL that went on for a bit longer [from March to June]. Then we had the WTC final [at Lord's this month]. Their last few months have been chock-a-block."

He further added, "If you cast your eye on what the next few months look like for us, starting with this series and then a couple of days after that we go to Australia [in August, for white-ball series] and England [in September, also for white-ball rubbers], we felt it was the best thing for them to freshen up."

While Burger and Coetzee return from injury, the absence of Nortje due to a stress-related back problem raises concerns about his future.

"It's the second or third stress reaction in his back," Conrad commented. "So of course it's something to be concerned about. But there's still a long way to go to make a decision in terms of how we're going to go forward. We're definitely not going to draw a line through his name."

Conrad reassured that Nortje would be given every opportunity to recover. "He's only 31, and we're going to give him every chance to get back on his feet and fight back. We're going to see how things develop and what the medical staff feel is the path forward and how it's going to look."

Nortje, who last played for South Africa in June 2024, has featured in less than 40% of the matches he could have played since his debut in 2019, due to injuries and his focus on franchise cricket.

On a positive note, Conrad highlighted the potential of Lhuan-dre Pretorius. "He's a special breed, the type of player who announces themselves on the biggest stage," Conrad said. "He did really well in the under-19 World Cup and he debuted in the SA20 and was phenomenal. He's played first-class cricket for the Titans, and he scored a hundred on debut and a hundred in the final. That says there's something special about him."

Pretorius was South Africa's highest run-scorer at the 2023 under-19 World Cup and this year's SA20. He also scored centuries on his first-class debut and in the final for the Titans.