3 teams who should target Anrich Nortje in IPL 2026 Auction ft. SRH

South African fast bowler Anrich Nortje was recalled to the national side for the five-match T20I series against India, which is currently underway. The speedster had been out of action on the big stage following the 2024 T20 World Cup final against India in Barbados. The 32-year-old was on the sidelines following the recurrence of a stress fracture.

Before being picked for the T20Is against India, the right-arm fast bowler represented Dolphins in the CSA T20 Challenge. In nine matches, he claimed 11 wickets at an average of 21.18 and an economy rate of 7.47, with a best of 3-18. Nortje bowled with impressive pace in his comeback T20I match against India in Cuttack, although he failed to take a wicket and ended with figures of 0-41.

The South African speedster was released by Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. Purchased for ₹6.50 crore at the 2025 auction, he played only two matches for the franchise in which he claimed one wicket. In this feature, we look at three teams that could target Nortje at the IPL 2026 auction.

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#1 Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)

IPL 2024 runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) had a disappointing 2025 season. They failed to qualify for the playoffs, finishing in sixth place, with 13 points (six wins, seven losses and one no result). Ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, SRH traded senior pacer Mohammad Shami to Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) and released Wiaan Mulder and Simarjeet Singh.

Among the pace bowling options in their camp following retentions, SRH have skipper Pat Cummins, Harshal Patel, Brydon Carse, Jaydev Unadkat and Eshan Malinga. While there are a few proven performers, SRH would ideally like to add another overseas pace bowler to their squad for the IPL 2026 season.

The Hyderabad franchise would head into the auction with a purse of ₹25.50 crore and two overseas slots left to fill. They could ponder on purchasing Nortje to add depth to their overall pace bowling resources.

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#2 Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB)

Royal Challengers Bengaluru (IPL) finally managed to end their IPL drought, winning the 2025 edition. Bowlers played a key role in the team's historic triumph. Josh Hazlewood claimed 22 wickets at an average of 17.54 and an economy rate of 8.77. Also, Bhuvneshwar Kumar and Krunal Pandya claimed 17 wickets each, while left-arm pacer Yash Dayal picked up 13.

RCB retained Hazlewood ahead of the IPL 2026 auction, while they released one of their other overseas pacers Lungi Ngidi. While Hazlewood has been terrific with the ball for the Bengaluru, he is also injury-prone. In fact, he was recently ruled out of Ashes 2025-26. While RCB would be hoping that Hazlewood would be fit for the 2026 IPL edition, they might look to buy another overseas pacer at the auction.

RCB would go into the IPL 2026 auction with a purse of ₹16.40 crore and two overseas slots available. They could look at Nortje as a potential replacement for Ngidi in the squad and also as a back-up for Hazlewood, keeping the latter's fitness history in mind.

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#3 Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR)

After failing to defend their IPL 2024 title, KKR released a number of their big names ahead of the IPL 2026 auction. Apart from Nortje, they released seasoned all-rounder Andre Russell, Chetan Sakariya, Moeen Ali, Quinton de Kock, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Spencer Johnson and Venkatesh Iyer.

Looking at their pace department following retentions and releases, Harshit Rana, Umran Malik and Vaibhav Arora are part of the KKR camp. It goes without saying that Kolkata need to strengthen their fast bowling pool and purchase some overseas pacers as they build a squad for the IPL 2026 edition.

KKR will go into the mini-auction with a whopping purse of ₹64.30 crore and six overseas slots remaining. The franchise could thus think of buying back Nortje at the IPL 2026 auction, potentially at a lower price.