Nandre Burger Out of MLC 2026 With Back Injury

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-06-25

South Africa fast bowler Nandre Burger has been ruled out of the rest of Major League Cricket 2026. Scans confirmed that a stress reaction in his back has flared up again. He was playing for the Texas Super Kings when the injury ended his tournament early. The team released an official statement saying Burger will need a long period of rest and rehab. The scans showed that the stress reaction was a pre-existing condition that came back. That left the franchise no choice but to pull the 30-year-old from the squad. ### Burger's Short MLC 2026 Campaign Burger didn't get much time to make an impact before the injury hit. He bowled his full four overs in the tournament opener against the Seattle Orcas. Then he bowled two overs as first-change against the San Francisco Unicorns, taking the wicket of Finn Allen. The very next day, Adam Milne replaced him in the playing XI. That was it for his tournament. The Texas Super Kings confirmed the diagnosis through scans, which showed the stress reaction was something Burger already had that just resurfaced. The franchise didn't give a timeline for his return. They only said he needs extended rest before he can play competitive cricket again. ### Dian Forrester Steps In Texas Super Kings have named fellow South African Dian Forrester as Burger's replacement. Forrester made his international debut against New Zealand earlier this year and has played five T20Is for South Africa. He's a batting all-rounder with a T20 strike rate of 140. He's also taken 14 wickets in 39 T20 matches. Forrester comes in with recent high-level experience. He toured England with South Africa A and played for Joburg Super Kings in SA20 2025/26. He also joined Chennai Super Kings in IPL 2026 as an injury replacement for Jamie Overton. Since he's familiar with Super Kings setups, he should fit right into the Texas camp. ### Burger's Long History of Injuries This back injury isn't new for Burger. In October 2024, a lumbar stress reaction kept him out of the Ireland series and the Bangladesh Tests. That same injury then made him miss SA20. Even before his South Africa debut, he had back problems. A lower back injury in November 2021 ended his domestic season and kept him away from cricket for nearly a year before he returned for Western Province. Last December, a hamstring injury limited his role in the second ODI against India and ruled him out of the third. Despite that, he came back to play 13 matches in IPL 2026 for Rajasthan Royals. He finished with 14 wickets at an average of 31.42, which put him joint-second in wickets for Rajasthan that season. He'd also been with Rajasthan the year before as an injury replacement for Sandeep Sharma, but he didn't get to play a game. ### What This Means Going Forward Burger's recurring injury problems make it hard for him to build any kind of consistent run in international or franchise cricket. This latest setback at MLC 2026 is just another chapter in a pattern that keeps cutting short what could be steady appearances at the top level. For now, the focus is on rest and recovery. There's no word yet on when he might be back.