Nandre Burger

Some Lesser Known Facts About Nandre Burger

• Nandre Burger is a South African cricketer who plays as a left-arm medium-fast bowler for the South Africa national cricket team (also known as the Proteas).

• As a kid, he first got into cricket playing with wooden sticks and foil paper balls with his mother and granny.

• Prior to enrolling at WITS, he had some experience playing club cricket. It was at WITS that his coach, Neil Levenson, identified his skill in pace bowling.

• He picked up 3 wickets in his 2nd ODI and seven wickets on his Test debut, making a remarkable entrance into his Test career by taking 2 wickets within the initial 13 deliveries.

• On 11 February 2016, he marked his debut in first-class cricket for Gauteng in a match against South Western Districts at Recreation Ground, Oudtshoorn, as part of the 2015–16 Sunfoil 3-Day Cup.

  

• He made his T20 debut on 14 February 2016 against South Western Districts at the same venue in the CSA Provincial T20 Challenge.

• For List A cricket, he debuted for Gauteng against North West at Senwes Park, Potchefstroom, in the 2016–17 CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge on 26 February 2017.

• He distinguished himself as the top wicket-taker for Gauteng in the 2017–18 CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge, securing 19 dismissals in seven matches.

• In July 2018, he earned a spot in the Cricket South Africa Emerging Squad and also played for Cape Town Blitz in the same year.

  

• During the 2018 Africa T20 Cup, representing Gauteng, he stood out as the leading wicket-taker with eleven dismissals in six matches.

• In September 2019, he joined the Nelson Mandela Bay Giants squad for the 2019 Mzansi Super League.

• In April 2021, he became a part of the Western Province’s squad for the 2021–22 cricket season in South Africa,

• His prowess in left-arm pace made a significant impact on the international cricket scene in 2023. On 19 December 2023, he was bought by Rajasthan Royals for a price of 50 lakh rupees for the IPL 2024.

• Interestingly, Burger didn’t want to pursue cricket as a profession.

• The sport was more of a recreational activity during his time at WITS, where he earned a scholarship to pursue a psychology major in 2014. In fact, at 17, he was about to quit cricket for tennis.

• At the age of 17, he was on the verge of leaving cricket to pursue tennis.

• However, his plans took an unexpected turn when he began experiencing back spasms due to which he was forced to quit the racquet sport.

• After playing tennis for a while, he started playing club cricket.

• Notably, his cricket journey has been marked by a series of injuries, with a significant period of absence spanning nearly a year from October 2021 to October 2022 due to a lumbar stress fracture.

Nandre Burger celebrates after dismissing India’s Ruturaj Gaikwad for 4 runs during the second One Day International cricket match between South Africa and India at the St George’s Park in Gqeberha, South Africa on 19 December 2023