Anrich Nortje has been left out of Cricket South Africa’s (CSA) list of contracted players for the 2024-25 season.

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CSA announced their list of contracted men and women players for the upcoming season, starting May 1. The men’s list has seen a reduction from 20 contracted players last season to 18 this time around, with the most surprising exclusion being that of fast bowler Nortje.

On the other hand, left-arm seamer Nandre Burger, who made his international debut last year, has received a maiden central contract and so has Tony de Zorzi.

Who are the notable exclusions?

Among those who had central contracts last year but have been released for the next season include the retired Dean Elgar, wicketkeeper Quinton de Kock, batter Keegan Petersen, and fast bowlers Sisanda Magala, Wayne Parnell, and Nortje.

De Kock retired from ODIs after the 2023 World Cup but has kept himself available for T20 tournaments. He was the only centrally contracted player apart from David Miller to have missed the first few rounds of the CSA Domestic T20 Challenge, having requested for time off for personal reasons.

Magala was named in the 2023 World Cup squad but got injured. He has not played any cricket since. Petersen has struggled for runs in Test cricket, resulting in him dropping off the contracts list, while Parnell has not been a certainty in international cricket lately.

David Bedingham and Kyle Verreynne, both of whom were part of South Africa’s latest Test XI, have not been included.

Why is Nortje’s exclusion surprising?

Nortje is one of, if not the fastest bowlers in the world currently. There have been no confirmed reports of him prioritising franchise cricket, like a lot of cricketers do these days, which makes his exclusion from the contracts list hard to explain.

Since making his debut for South Africa in March 2019, Nortje has featured in 72 out of 143 international matches that his side played till he suffered a stress fracture mid-2023. Last year, however, he managed to play only nine games across formats.

Given the emergence of Burger and CSA’s need to cut costs, it’s possible it came down to a decision between the two, with Burger rewarded for recent availability.

Men’s list of contracted players

Temba Bavuma, Nandre Burger, Gerald Coetzee, Tony de Zorzi, Bjorn Fortuin, Reeza Hendricks, Marco Jansen, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Aiden Markram, David Miller, Lungi Ngidi, Andile Phehlukwayo, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tabraiz Shamsi, Tristan Stubbs and Rassie van der Dussen.

Women’s list of contracted players

Anneke Bosch, Tazmin Brits, Nadine de Klerk, Lara Goodall, Ayanda Hlubi, Sinalo Jafta, Marizanne Kapp, Ayabonga Khaka, Masabata Klaas, Suné Luus, Eliz-Mari Marx, Nonkululeko Mlaba, Tumi Sekhukhune, Chloé Tryon, Delmi Tucker and Laura Wolvaardt.

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