3 SA players who should be protected during IPL 2019
Since its inception in 2008, the 2019 edition of the tournament will be the first time when the Indian Premier League will be played ahead of the ICC Cricket World Cup event.
The 12th edition of the Cricket World Cup will be hosted by England and Wales and is scheduled to be played between 30th May and 14th July. ICC has opted for the ten-team round-robin format with the top four battling it out for the coveted trophy. In short, the stage is set for the ICC’s flagship event.
However, the same cannot be said about the BCCI's million dollar baby- the IPL. Although the franchises have released their player retention list, neither the venue nor the dates of the fixture for the IPL 2019 have been announced.
Depending on the fixture of the Indian General Elections, the 12th edition of IPL could be either completely shifted to the rainbow nation of South Africa like in 2009 or it could be partially shifted to the United Arab Emirates similar to its 2014 edition.
Cricket boards have had to choose between allowing their players to play the cash-rich league and protecting them from fatigue and injuries. While the New Zealand players are said to be available for the entirety of the next season of IPL, Australian and England players are said to return by the 1st week of May.
There were also reports that the Indian skipper Virat Kohli wanted India’s bowlers to be fresh and fit before the World Cup and hence wanted them to skip the IPL partially at least.
With all the teams trying to make sure that their key players don’t suffer injuries, let us take a look at the players that 2015 World Cup’s semi-finalists South Africa should protect during the IPL 2019:
#3. Quinton de Kock
Quinton de Kock has been South Africa’s first choice wicket-keeper across all formats and also shares the responsibility of opening the innings along with Hashim Amla. The southpaw is one of the top wicket-keepers in the international circuit and is a formidable opening batsman.
Numbers back up de Kock’s exceptional glove-work for the Proteas. Till date, he has 146 dismissals in 94 innings comprising of 139 catches and 7 stumpings. He has the highest dismissal to innings ratio of 1.553.
Earlier in the year, de Kock suffered a wrist injury in the second One Day International game against India and was out of action for the remainder of the series and was replaced by Heinrich Klassen.
He played for the Royal Challengers Bangalore in the 2018 edition of the IPL and was traded to the Mumbai Indians after a below-par season with the bat. He managed just 201 runs in 8 matches. Although de Kock has had very few injuries in his career, South Africa would do well to protect to him for the all-important World Cup.