Injury rules Anrich Nortje out of India series

Nortje, the 28-year-old right-arm quick, has been sidelined by what Cricket South Africa are calling a "persistent" problem

South Africa have been dealt a blow five days out from their Test series with India, with the news Anrich Nortje will not feature because of injury.

Nortje, the 28-year-old right-arm quick, has been ruled out by what Cricket South Africa are calling a "persistent" problem.

He last bowled a ball in competitive action in the T20 World Cup clash with England at the start of November. 

In a statement, the governing body said Nortje would "consult specialists to manage and advise on his recovery".

^{Anrich Nortje is out of the South Africa-India Test series (Christiaan Kotze/AFP via Getty Images)}

No replacement has been named by CSA ahead of the first Test, which is due to take place at Centurion from December 26.

Further matches are scheduled to take place in Johannesburg and Cape Town in January.

Nortje's absence makes the return of Duanne Olivier increasingly important for the Proteas.

Olivier last played for his country in February 2019, having taken Kolpak status to play in the county system in the UK, but is included in the South Africa squad.

South Africa squad: Dean Elgar, Temba Bavuma, Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Sarel Erwee, Beuran Hendricks, George Linde, Keshav Maharaj, Lungi Ngidi, Aiden Markram, Wiaan Mulder, Keegan Petersen, Rassie van der Dussen, Kyle Verreynne, Marco Jansen, Glenton Stuurman, Prenelan Subrayen, Sisanda Magala, Ryan Rickelton, Duanne Olivier