Anrich Nortje in relentless pursuit of the 'missing ingredient'

Nortje was out of action for six months after the T20 World Cup last year. He had bowled exceptionally well in the 2020-2021 IPL season before being sidelined due to a stress fracture. Alongside Kagiso Rabada, Nortje formed arguably the most potent fast bowling pairing in the IPL. Delhi Capitals chose to retain him ahead of Rabada but when he made a comeback to this year's IPL, Nortje was not the same bowler.

(PTI Photo)"I am still not there. I am still working on it, still trying to find one or two things. Body wise I am still not 100 percent, slowly building it up. I would probably rate myself from where I was at the end of IPL last year and the start of T20 World Cup. Still trying to get there," said Nortje on Thursday. Nortje was putting in the hard yards ahead of the fourth T20 International against India. He bowled at the centre wicket for a while alongside Dwaine Pretorius and spinner Tabraiz Shamsi. So, what exactly is missing from his bowling? "If I knew exactly what it was, I would have done it (laughs). It is going to be a minor adjustment. I generally keep it simple. I am working on something at this stage and we will see how it goes. "It is not like it is completely out of shape. It is about small margins for me and I would like to get back to where I was," said the 28-year-old.

Nortje said injury has taught him a valuable lesson. "It was hard (the comeback phase) because some of the stuff is limited. Some of the bowling is limited. You can't go out and bowl 8 to 9 overs every day. It has been a good challenge and will help in the future if there are any niggles or injuries going forward," he said. Like India's Umran Malik, who is yet to get a game in the series, Nortje built his reputation by bowling in