Jhye Richardson set to miss 1st half of the IPL for Delhi Capitals, Anrich Nortje set to arrive in time

Western Australian pacer Jhye Richardson is all set to miss the 1st leg of the 2024 edition of the Indian Premier League, which is slated to start from 22nd March onwards with an opening clash between Royal Challengers Bangalore and Chennai Super Kings.

Delhi Capitals co-owner Parth Jindal while speaking to ESPNcricinfo, confirmed the development with Richardson, who is recovering from a side strain, and also revealed that Anrich Nortje will be available right from the start.

Jhye Richardson who was a part of the Perth Scorchers in BBL 2023/24, missed the closing matches of the tournament due to a left side strain he sustained during the league stages. He was signed by the Delhi Capitals during IPL 2024 auctions last December for an amount of INR 5 crores.

Jhye Richardson’s timeline with injury

The 27-year-old, who has played 36 international matches for Australia across formats, has remained very injury-prone throughout his career. It is the main reason why Richardson hasn’t been able to seal his spot in the senior team as he has kept on entering and then going out of the team to undergo surgeries and recovering from a number of injuries.

Last year in October while playing for Western Australia in the Sheffield Shield season, Jhye Richardson dislocated his right shoulder during fielding and it occurred at a time when he had just recovered from a Hamstring injury during that year’s Big Bash League edition.

2 months after making his Test debut, Richardson dislocated his right shoulder for the first time against Pakistan in March 2019 and it took him about 2 years to stage a return to the Test side in 2021 but he hasn’t returned ever since amid competitions from the likes of Starc, Cummins, Hazlewood, and Scott Boland.

It will be fair to say that Jhye Richardson has spent more time in rehabilitation than he has with the senior Australian team since he earned his debut cap in 2017. His absence in the first half of IPL could become a concern for Delhi Capitals but the good news for the outfit is that South African pacer Anrich Nortje who was also dealing with an injury that saw him get ruled out of the Cricket World Cup 2023, is set to remain available from the start of the season.

“Next week, he will bowl at 100%” – Parth Jindal on Anrich Nortje’s fitness

While speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Parth Jindal revealed that Anrich Nortje has recovered well from his injury and that he is bowling at 80% intensity in the nets and is expected to bowl at 100% intensity by next week. Jindal remained hopeful that Nortje will be available for selection in Delhi Capitals’ opening IPL clash against Punjab Kings on March 23rd.

“He’s fit. Right now, he is bowing at 80% intensity. Next week, he will bowl at 100%. He’s going to make his comeback in the IPL. He is going to join our camp and should be good to go for our first game.” – Parth Jindal said via ESPNcricinfo. 

Delhi Capitals’ fixture for IPL 1st leg:

Punjab Kings Vs Delhi Capitals: 23rd March

Rajasthan Royals Vs Delhi Capitals: 28th March

Chennai Super Kings Vs Delhi Capitals: 31st March

Delhi Capitals Vs Kolkata Knight Riders: 3rd April

Mumbai Indians Vs Delhi Capitals: 7th April