Nandre Burger ruled out of MLC 2026 due to recurring back injury | CricTracker

Texas Super Kings (TSK) have suffered a major setback in the ongoing Major League Cricket (MLC) 2026 season, with South African fast bowler Nandre Burger being ruled out of the tournament due to a recurrence of a stress reaction in his back.

Burger will leave the competition and undergo an extended period of rest and rehabilitation after medical scans revealed the return of a pre-existing stress reaction. The left-arm quick had featured in the early stages of the tournament, playing two matches and bowling his full quota against the Seattle Orcas. He also bowled two overs against the San Francisco Unicorns before being replaced by New Zealand pacer Adam Milne for TSK’s third game.

The injury marks another unfortunate chapter in Burger’s career, which has been repeatedly disrupted by fitness concerns. In 2024, he was ruled out of South Africa’s series against Ireland, denying him a potential ODI debut. Later that year, a lumbar stress reaction forced him to miss the Test series against Bangladesh and subsequently ruled him out of the SA20 tournament.

Burger had also struggled with similar back issues before making his international debut. In 2021, he sustained a lower-back injury that prematurely ended his domestic season and kept him out of action for nearly a year before returning to play for Western Province.

His most recent setback before MLC came in December last year, when a hamstring injury impacted his participation in South Africa’s ODI series against India. The injury forced him to miss the third ODI after featuring in the second match.

Despite his injury troubles, Burger enjoyed a productive IPL 2026 campaign with the Rajasthan Royals. The fast bowler played 13 matches and claimed 14 wickets at an average of 31.42, finishing as the joint second-highest wicket-taker for the franchise. Interestingly, he was previously signed by the Royals as an injury replacement for Sandeep Sharma but did not get an opportunity to play.

Meanwhile, Texas Super Kings have named South African all-rounder Dian Forrester as Burger’s replacement. Forrester has represented Johannesburg Super Kings in the SA20, featuring in 11 matches, and has also played five T20 Internationals for South Africa.

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