South Africans at IPL 2020

One of the best parts about the Indian Premier League (IPL) is colour and the variety it brings to cricket in the weeks the cricket extravaganza is played. We see players from all over the globe participate which contributes to the variety.

Over the years, South African players have been a huge part of the IPL and many have done well for their respective franchises. This year is no different. There are as many as 11 South African players who will be taking part in the IPL in the 2020 season. Hence, we look at each one of them from this year’s IPL point of view.

AB de Villiers (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

AB de Villiers has been one of the very few overseas players who has been a part of every season of the IPL. He was with Delhi Daredevils for the first three years before he was bought by the Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in 2011. And as they say, the rest is history. The South African batting superstar is one of the two pillars of RCB and has been a prolific run-getter for them.

Overall, with 4395 runs, de Villiers is the ninth-highest run-getter of all-time in the IPL. Out of those 3724 runs have come for RCB at an average of 41.84 and a strike-rate of 159.55. In 2020, he will continue to be a key member of the RCB squad and will remain as the heart of the RCB batting line-up.

Dale Steyn (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Till 2015, Dale Steyn was an integral part of the IPL. He had played for three teams till then and was one of the big components of the bowling line-up of every team that he played. However, from 2016, injuries have played a big part in his career and he hasn’t really been around. He played one game in 2016. In 2019, he was roped in as a replacement player by RCB and was injured again after playing a couple of games. Overall, he has played 92 games and has picked up 96 wickets.

This year, he was bought by RCB once again and he is one of the senior-most players in the team. He will look to mentor and shepherd what looks like a young but promising bowling attack. Steyn may not play every game this year but is going to play a big role for RCB.

IPL 2020: Bowlers to Watch and Bet On

Chris Morris (Royal Challengers Bangalore)

Chris Morris was RCB’s big pick this year. The three-time IPL finalists broke the bank and spent INR 10 crore to avail the services of the South African all-rounder. Morris has been around the IPL scene since 2013. He was first with Chennai Super Kings (CSK) before he moved to Rajasthan Royals (RR) in 2015 and then Delhi, where he spent four seasons.

Morris has the reputation of bowling at great pace and is a good death bowler. Hence, RCB are looking at him not only to solve their death bowling issues but also middle and lower middle-order batting problems. Morris can use the long handle and can be a good finisher as well. Thus, he is going to be a huge part of the RCB setup this time around and there will be quite a few expectations from the big all-rounder.

David Miller (Rajasthan Royals)

It is the first time in the history of the IPL that David Miller has moved out of the Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) setup after they decided against retaining the big-hitting left-hander. David Miller has blown hot and cold in the IPL. He was excellent in his initial years. He scored 418, 445 and 357 runs in the 2013, 2014 and 2015 season respectively. However, his performances started to fade away in the last few years.

In the IPL auction for the 2020 season, Miller was bought by RR for his base price of INR 75 lakhs. Miller might not start straightaway if RR’s England and Australia players are available from the first game. But with Ben Stokes’ availability slightly uncertain, he might just get a look in.

Kagiso Rabada (Delhi Capitals)

Kagiso Rabada has played just a couple of seasons of the IPL. However, the Proteas fast bowler’s stocks have risen in very little time. After playing just six games in the 2017 season where he picked six wickets, Rabada was ruled out due to injury in 2018. In 2019, he returned with a bang and was the leading wicket-taker (25 wickets) until he got injured.

He was a big reason why Delhi made it to the playoffs for the first time since 2012. Be it in the powerplay, middle-overs or at the death, Rabada invariably picked up wickets. This year, Rabada will once again lead the Delhi Capitals pace attack. He could well be the overseas fast bowler to watch out for.

Anrich Nortje (Delhi Capitals)

Anrich Nortje had a base price of INR 50 lakhs in the IPL auction for the 2020 season. But he found no buyers. It was only when Chris Woakes pulled out of this year’s IPL that Delhi Capitals decided to name Nortje as the replacement. This is the first time Nortje will be a part of the IPL. He was picked up by KKR in the auctions ahead of IPL 2019 as well but an injury robbed him of the chance to experience the thrill of the IPL

Nortje has been playing international cricket for South Africa for about a year now but has been around the domestic and T20 arena since 2013. But he has played just 22 T20s and has 27 wickets to his name. He is unlikely to be Delhi’s first choice fast bowler but is certainly a good backup option.

Quinton de Kock (Mumbai Indians)

Quinton de Kock started his IPL career with Sunrisers Hyderabad and played just three games in 2013. From 2014 to 2016, he was with Delhi and found decent success as well before moving to RCB in 2018. But he played just eight games in 2018 and scored 201 runs and was traded to MI in 2019.

2019 was de Kock’s best year in the IPL. The South African wicket-keeper batsman amassed 529 runs at an average of 35.27 and he topped the run charts in what was a title-winning season for Mumbai Indians (MI). It was his first year with MI. de Kock will be the key once again this year and is all set to open the batting with Rohit Sharma.

Faf du Plessis (Chennai Super Kings)

Ever since he put his name up in the auction, Faf du Plessis has been a vital part of the CSK line-up. When they were banned in 2016 and 2017, he was a part of the Rising Pune Supergiant (RPS) side but played just eight games across two seasons and was injured.

Since CSK returned in 2018, du Plessis has scored 558 runs averaging nearly 35. He doesn’t play all games but he has been a big-match player and has invariably stood up in the crunch games. This time it’s going to be no different. The former South African captain may not start all games but will be one of the key overseas players for CSK.

Imran Tahir (Chennai Super Kings)

Over the years, Imran Tahir’s stocks have constantly been on the rise. He is a gun T20 bowler and may well arguably be one of the best spinners going around in the shortest format. He was with the Delhi Daredevils for three years (2014-2016) before he moved to Rising Pune Supergiant in 2017. Tahir picked up 18 wickets in 2017 and that prompted CSK to go for him.

The veteran leg-spinner didn’t play much in 2018 but was superb in 2019 as he went on to win the Purple Cap, taking 26 wickets. With the IPL in the UAE this year, his role becomes even more crucial. Tahir might start quite a few games this year with the pitches expected to be slow and aid spin.

IPL 2020: Batsmen to Watch and Bet On

Lungi Ngidi (Chennai Super Kings)

It was in early 2018 that Lungi Ngidi made his international debut and he was impressive straightaway. CSK bought him for his base price of INR 50 lakhs in 2018 and the Durban-born fast bowler played a key role in their title-win that year. He may have played just seven games but had a big impact. Ngidi took 11 wickets at an average of 14.18 and had an economy of 6.00.

He missed the 2019 season due to injury. However, he is back this year and is going to be CSK’s premier overseas fast bowler. He was in excellent form before the lockdown and seems to have evolved as a bowler.

Hardus Viljoen (Kings XI Punjab)

Hardus Viljoen has a decent T20 record and hence, he was picked by Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) last season at his base price of INR 75 lakh. He even played seven games and returned with seven wickets at an economy of 9.65. Moreover, Viljoen was retained ahead of the auction for this year’s IPL.

But the question is will Viljoen get to play as frequently or even as much as he did in the last season with the likes of Sheldon Cottrell and Chris Jordan added to the mix. Despite that, he is a decent backup option to have.