Lungi Ngidi is back!
There can’t be a better piece of news for Delhi Capitals fans at present.
The South African fast bowler sustained a head injury in an earlier IPL 2026 match against Punjab Kings while attempting a catch and was taken to hospital immediately. He has now been cleared to play. At the time, fans feared the worst, but thankfully, the injury wasn’t serious.
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On X, the IPL franchise posted a video on Thursday in which New Zealand all-rounder Kyle Jamieson is seen at first. He says, “Lungi is back. He is back, again.” In the next frame, it’s now South Africa batsman David Miller who says the same thing.
And then you see Ngidi ready to bowl, at two stumps with the middle one missing, and guess what? He nails the second one on the leg side. Afterwards he celebrates in his characteristic manner, both arms wide-spread and then a jump and downward punching of the air.
The injury to Ngidi on April 25 was truly a bad omen. He couldn’t bowl any balls in that match, and PBKS took full advantage of his absence and chased down 265, the highest ever in IPL history. On April 27, the South African provided a short update on Instagram where he thanked fans and everyone else for their support. Ngidi missed the next game against Royal Challengers Bengaluru, too, which DC lost by nine wickets after getting bowled out for just 75 in their own den.
Big day today for Delhi Capitals!
Delhi Capitals are at present in Jaipur to play hosts Rajasthan Royals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. RR are presently fourth in the points table with six wins from 9 games, while Delhi take the seventh spot with three wins from 8 games. Going forward, every match is going to be a must-win for Axar Patel’s men. While that may be a hard task, the return of Ngidi is certainly going to boost their campaign not a little.
The 30-year-old has bowled in six games so far and has taken seven wickets at an economy rate of 8.70. For a high-scoring IPL this season, that’s pretty good, one has to say.
His ability to mix his pace stands out. Very few batsmen have been able to read his slower deliveries properly. Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Yashasvi Jaiswal will have to watch out for him today. Delhi Capitals’ nightmarish phase had started with the Ngidi injury as they lost their two matches badly. His return might now turn things around for them. They would hope that’s the case.