3 reasons why RCB must target Anrich Nortje in IPL 2026 Auction

South African pacer Anrich Nortje featured in his first international outing since the 2024 T20 World Cup Final during the first ODI against India at the Barabati Stadium in Cuttack on Tuesday, December 9. The absence of close to a year and a half was largely down to injuries, with only sporadic franchise outings in between.

The pacer had sustained a stress-related injury in June 2025, the latest of a string of recurring blows in his career. He made a comeback during the CSA T20 Challenge for the Dolphins, where he bagged 11 wickets in nine matches at an economy of 7.47 and an average of 21.18 to be the joint fourth-highest wicket-taker of the tournament.

Even in his return to international cricket after a long time, Nortje's pace did not drop a touch as he was able to trouble the Indian batters, especially at the start of his spell. Although his figures read 0-41 off four overs, it was a credible start , something to build from after a return from yet another injury.

On that note, let us take a look at three reasons why RCB must target Anrich Nortje in the IPL 2026 Auction.

#1 RCB need a pacer to cover for Josh Hazlewood while his workload is managed

From RCB's perspective, they have all their bases covered, except for a backup for Josh Hazlewood, especially now that Lungi Ngidi has been released. With the Australian pacer's injury troubles only intensifying in the off-season, the defending champions have no choice but to manage his workload throughout the season.

With that in mind, the fact that Hazlewood cannot play all matches in the campaign, RCB have the task of bringing in a capable pacer who will try to negate Hazlewood's absence as much as possible. Earlier, the back-up seamer was just a contingency plan, but now it is as important as a starting role, given the vulnerable and volatile way things stand for RCB and Hazlewood.

Given Anrich Nortje's unquestionable prowess and impact, coupled with his injury troubles, RCB can have two halves in the form of him and Hazlewood to make a whole. The South African has played all matches in an IPL campaign just once, which was his debut season five years ago. In the last two seasons, he has played just a total of eight matches.

Since it is impact that RCB are looking for and not a constant presence in the playing XI, Nortje can easily give the team 4-5 matches at least while Hazlewood recovers.

#2 There are not many cheap overseas pace options with credible IPL experience

It is to be noted that RCB do not have the luxury of going for star overseas pacers like Matheesha Pathirana and other such names due to their limited purse after a heavy retention list. Under those circumstances, the team has to go all for a bargain target, but that is a tricky prospect as well since there are not many players in the budget that also bring IPL experience with them.

There are overseas pacers in the auction pool like Gus Atkinson and Gerald Coetzee that fit the profile, but they come with their own set of drawbacks, the most glaring one being a lack of solid experience in the IPL.

Anrich Nortje is one such bowler who nearly ticks all of the boxes from RCB's perspective, with his past experience in the IPL and the subcontinent being a massive factor. He has featured in six seasons of the IPL, and while there are a lot of starts and stops in there, it is largely because of injury rather than lack of ability.

#3 Anrich Nortje's sheer pace makes him an asset across all conditions and phases

The majority of overseas pacers in the auction pool are rather one-dimensional, but in their defence, they are really good at what they call their strengths. For instance, Matheesha Pathirana is a death over specialist, Fazalhaq Farooqi and Jason Behrendorff are new-ball specialists given their ability to move the ball, while someone like Gerald Coetzee can come into play in the middle overs after the fielding restrictions are lifted.

Teams can afford to go all out for such bowlers, because they have the rest of the areas covered. As far as RCB are concerned, since Hazlewood is a bowler that can dominate all phases, they would ideally like his backup to be someone that can provide that.

As Anrich Nortje's primary strength is his sheer pace, he is comfortable bowling across all three phases of the game. While his death bowling can be a touch erratic, he is a reliable option at the start and in the middle overs.

RCB do not necessarily have to use the South African in the death as they already have Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Yash Dayal to take on the role in Hazlewood's absence.

Nortje's pace also means that he is not overly reliant on conditions, and his burst in the middle overs from one end can assist the spinners who are controlling the game from the other end.